Christina Gray, Stephanie Lopez, Bonnie Jordan, Steffani WilliamsonLEARNING LOG 1
T hank you for the complete log. I appreciate it.
At the beginning of your answer, write your first name and then answer the question(s) fully.
Why are content area reading strategies (CARS) important for all students at all levels? Christina: I believe that content area reading strategies are important for students at all levels because they help the students by giving them tools to better comprehend the subject. They can help students understand the concept and relate to it in such a way that they grasp a deeper meaning.
What is a good way to encourage alliterate students to read on their own?
Swanson: I feel that if the students are paired and have a purpose for reading, they will read. The purpose can be a common graphic organizer, an authentic reason to complete the information, etc. The students will share the reading (they are reading 50% of the time with a reading strategy like prediction, etc.); and then they have to write or talk about it but first practice in the pair and then share with the entire group.
Stephanie L: The content area reading strategies are very important for students at all levels because it gives them a topic to focus on to more fully comprehend the area or subject the students are learning about. It gives the students a chance to form their own ideas around the subject because they are grasping the subject more fully.
Bonnie: Content are reading strategies are very important for all students at all levels because not only does it helps them focus better on the topic but also helps them comprehend the topic or subject their studying and learning about.
*What is a good way to monitor and assess what the student has been learning?
Swanson: If you are walking around in the paired reading format, you can "hear" the reading and the comments. Then you will look over the common graphic organizer or paper and see what they have done. Then you can ask for verbal comments. It works! IF the students know they are responsible for working and sharing, and everyone must share, then they work to complete the information.
Steffani W.: Content area reading strategies (CARS) are essential for students of all ages/levels because it provides them with knowlege of how to use the skills they've been taught. In a nutshell--CARS show students how to "read to learn" (quoting Dr. Swanson).
WIKI TEXT SET RESPONSE: After reading the text set, how do these books and electronic resources help with the topic understanding?
Christina: These resources are a great tool because they give you ways to relate to the topic. They provide ideas and information that you wouldn’t get from one source alone, which allows you to form a deeper understanding
Stephanie L: The electronic resources help the student learn in a new and exciting way. It helps the teacher be able to reach every student's learning style.
Steffani W.: The text set adds personal connections to an event that otherwise seems irrelevant and unimportant to students. It adds emotion and place to the topic, which helps students undertand and relate to the topic.
Bonnie: Electronic resources to me are always going to get the students attention a lot quicker and keep them interested a lot longer with all the different ways of learning by almost using every one of the students learning styles and the text sets gets the personal connection with the students and how it could or has related to them in their lives.
My question: What would be the best way to implement supplemental text sets in a school where administration seems to prefer that you "stick to the textbooks"?
Swanson: I feel that you can use the textset to introduce, or to enhance for enrichment at the end. You can use the textbook as just one of many sources to read. You can model the reading of the textbook (knowing that the textbook only reaches about 1/2 of your students) and then "tell stories", show videos, talk, talk, talk. It is these socialization and enhancing activities which will help the students remember the content.
LEARNING LOG 2
T hank you for the complete log. I appreciate it.
At the beginning of your answer, write your first name and then answer the question(s) fully.
(REQUIRED) What are at least three main points the authors suggest to improve the topic in your classroom?
Christina: Three points that the authors suggested to improve the topic in your classroom were to teach with texts and use those texts strategically, to balance content and process, and to teach and learn with new literacies. The book mentions that texts are indispensable sources of information, meaning-making, and knowledge construction. Therefore, students should have this resource available to them. Also, teachers need to teach their students not only the content information but also strategies to become knowledgeable about that content information. Lastly, teachers should not only become knowledgeable themselves about new literacies, but they should also share this information with their students and use this to enhance learning in the classroom.
Bonnie: Three main points that the authors suggested to improve your topic in your classroom is to teach balance content and process, text strategically, and effectively using technology.
Stephanie L: The three main points the authors suggest to improve the topic in my future classroom is to teach balance content and process, text strategically, and effectively using technology.
Swanson: Please elaborate a little more. Okay?
Steffani W: Three points the authors suggest that can improve your topic in your classroom include balancing content and process (the "what" and "how" of teaching), teaching to learn, and effectively using technology. Balancing content and process means using effective, engaging processes (how) to teach the content (what). Teaching to learn means going beyond "telling and assigning". Dig into the topic; ask questions, and stir your students to ask questions about how/what they've been thinking. Show them how to construct their own knowledge as they read, by using the strategies they've been taught. Effective use of technology includes using pictures, simulations, dramatizations, podcasts, music, etc. to bring your topic to life. Teaching straight out of a book in a digital world is not effective--use these electronic mediums so your students can relate to the topic better.
CHOOSE TWO OF THE FOLLOWING TO ANSWER OR DO.
2. Why is reading to learn a strategic, meaning-making process?Christina: Reading to learn is a strategic, meaning-making process because students must use strategies to effectively comprehend the information and once the information is understood, students use reading as a tool to construct, clarify, and extend meaning in a given discipline. Steffani W: Reading to learn is a strategic, meaning-making process because students must employ strategic processes to the materials they encounter in order to construct personal meaning from them.
Bonnie: Reading to learn is a strategice, meaning-making process because students must use different strategies to comprehend all the information. After the different information is understood by the students making process comes into play.
Stephanie L: Reading to learn is a strategic, meaning-making process because the students need to make connections while reading in order to fully comprehend the text. They need to be able to use their background knowledge and make personal meaning so they can be able to more easily recall and remember what they read.
3. Demonstrate the importance of prior learning (schema) has in making reading as a meaning-making process.
4. Evaluate your skills to the chart on page 21. How good of a reader are you?Christina: According to the chart, I am a pretty good reader. I use a lot of the bulleted strategies listed when I read, but there are some ways that I can improve. Three things that I do well when reading are that I have clear goals, I read selectively, and I integrate prior knowledge. Other strategies that I should work on and begin to incorporate into my reading are making predictions, questioning the text and thinking about the authors of the text. I think that if I can begin to do these things then I can learn even more and improve as a reader. (Swanson: Please elaborate. It is in the elaboration where the learning will take place. You will forget the lists soon but you will not forget the personalization of the content.) Steffani W: The chart says I'm a good reader. I use a lot of the strategies listed, such as: setting goals, skimming, reading selectively, monitoring my understanding, and evaluating the quality/value of what I'm reading, among others. There were a few strategies I don't use much, if at all: thinking about the authors, making predictions, and constructing, revising, and questioning meaning as I read.
Bonnie: After evaluating the chart I would say I'm an ok reader. It is hard for me to focus on the text at all times. I do make predictions about what is to come but also at the same time I don't attend closely to the setting and characters when reading narrative.
Stephanie Lopez: The chart says I am a good reader. Most of the strategies that are listed, I use when I am reading. Some of the strategies I can improve on, but after reading the strategies I will make the accomadations for the future! 5. Authentic question: Interview a content area teacher on effective teaching strategies that he or she uses to engage students in learning.
Christina: * As teachers, how do we balance teaching students what they need to know and ways to learn it?
Swanson: The ways to learn the content must be integrated into the content and make it as seamless as possible. For example, you will be teaching the visual dictionary (next week's lesson) and you will be using this format for a couple of weeks and using this format for your word wall. Then when you "know" they "know" it, you will add another vocabulary strategy and teach that for a few weeks. Then the students can choose which one they WANT to use to learn vocabulary. Then you add another one. By the end of the year, the students will have about 8 to 12 vocabulary strategies to select the BEST one for them. You do the same with the opening, metacognition, and closing.
Steffani W's Question: What are some really good ways to activate background knowledge in young children (PK-1st grade)?
Bonnie J's Question: What are some of the ways to get students to describe their background knowledge and help them understand the importance of it?
Stephanie L's Question: What is a good way to keep organized while trying to get the students to learn the text?
LEARNING LOG 3
At the beginning of your answer, write your first name and then answer the question(s) fully.
(REQUIRED) What are at least three main points the authors suggest to improve the topic in your classroom
Christina: Three points that the authors suggest in this chapter to improve the topic in your classroom were knowing how to use new literacies in the classroom, teaching your students how to evaluate websites, and using tools like internet inquiries to help students engage in research. The word literacy has really evolved from just knowing how to read and write to also knowing how to learn with texts that have multimodal elements. Teachers need to know how to use these tools like blogs and wiki's and other internet resources in order to teach students to become literate in these areas as well. Evaluating websites is a very important part of using the internet for research in school. Students and teachers should learn what to look for in a hoax website and be able to use the links they come across wisely. The reliability and accuracy of a website are important factors that everyone in the classroom should learn how to look for and detect. Lastly, the authors mention using tools like internet inquiries to engage students in research. The internet contains a vast amount of information and sources that students can obtain. Using this tool will allow students to become more familiar with navigating websites and they also can learn new information that they can share with the class.
Stephanie Lopez: Three points the the author suggest to improve the topic in your classroom are using blogs, learning how to evaluate websites, and using internet inquiries. These tools are out there for teachers to use. I really like the idea of using blogs. I cannot wait to learn more from this READ class to take into my future classroom. Students are already technology savvy. Most of what they do at home for fun is with technology. It is imperative that we further increase their knowledge in technology and show them how to use technology for learning.
Steffani W. : The author suggests using several technology forms to enhance instruction of new literacies. Three main ones include:
1) Blogs:Set up a lbog for the class and give each stuudent an individual blog. Post topics for discussion relevant to class topics. This gives students the opportunity to exercise personal expression on their individual blogs and group discussions about the materials.
2) Wikis: Wikis allow for collaborative discussions about classroom topics, and can be divided into large, small, or whole group discussions.
3) Internet workshops: Internet workshops provide students with independent time to research and explore new literacies online, scaffolded by the teacher and minilessons he/she may present.
Bonnie- Three main points the author suggest that I found important were:
1. Hypermedia- the reason I found this one important is because it covers all the learning styles and makes the learning more intresting.
2. Blogs, Wikis, and Nings- I found this one a great idea for the fact students can interact with other students not in their schools to help learn and discuss the same topic. Maybe get more ideas, better help each other understand, and see things from a different mind.
3. Internet Inquiries- this would help students find more things out about the subject they are learning. Would also help them better understand the subject by getting different infomation then their text books at school. CHOOSE TWO OF THE FOLLOWING TO ANSWER OR DO.
2. Why is learning with new literacies essential for implementation into the curriculum?Christina: Learning with new literacies is essential for implementation into the curriculum because proficient use of technologies has actually become a content standard. Students are expected to know how to use technologies for information and communication. Therefore, it is vital that teachers implement these new literacies into the curriculum so that students become familiar with and adapt to using them. Teachers can use them in a variety of ways in their classroom and students will enjoy and benefit from learning new ways to research and document information.
Stephanie Lopez: Learning new literacies will improve the teacher's performance. It give the teacher an extra edge with the student's learning styles. Teachers need to be able to by flexible with their teacher styles. And, that will be possible by learning new literacies. As a future teacher I know that I need to make my lessons vary in the way I present the information. New literacies and up to date technology will be the way to do it.
Bonnie- New literacies would improve the learning in classrooms because students these days are into all the technology and by bring something into the classroom students are comfortable with would help better with their learning. Also with the way technology works these days and all the things out there like the hypermedia, blogs, wikis, nings, internet inquiries, etc. this would cover all the learning styles for all the students.
3. What are the similarities between the new literacies and the traditional print? What are the differences? What is the same? Use a Venn diagram.
Steffani W.: Here is my Venn diagram
4. Why are the new literacies not integrated into the most classrooms?Christina: I believe that new literacies are not integrated into classrooms for a variety of reasons. Some teachers are not very tech-savy and do not know how to use the technology themselves and therefore are not able to teach their students how to do so. Another reason could be that teachers are too lazy to integrate them into their curriculum. Although it is vital to students to learn this new information, some teachers do not want to add anything else to their instruction. Lastly, I think some teachers are afraid that they do not have the time to teach their students these new literacies. They may feel that other content information is more important for their students to learn and would rather devote their teaching time to that.
Stephanie Lopez: I believe new literacies are not integrated into the classroom because teachers are very nervous to try new things. They want to do the same practices and lessons that came before them because it is easier and more comfortable for them. They do not like adding new things because it presents a challenge for them. They feel as if they do not have the time to learn the new technologies that are available to them. They do not take the time because they feel like they are already spending a lot of time presenting required materials. I feel like this has to change, and it will with me as a future teacher.
Steffani W.: I feel that the reason most teachers don't integrate these new literacies is that they lack the time and confidence to explore and implement new technologies. Another issue might be lack of access to equipment in the schools that the need to effecteivley implement the new literacies. Teachers also may feel that they would lose some control of the classroom by doing discussions and assignments online instead of in class.
Bonnie- I think the new literacies are not integrated into most of the classrooms because a lot of teachers are "old fashion" and not tech smart. There are use to the old ways and don't want to change anything about it. That also goes along with learning every students learning style. Also a lot of school systems won't and can't afford computers or tech. for al the classrooms.
5. Authentic question:
Interview a middle-school or high school student about the use of electronic texts. What types of skills and strategies do students need to possess in order to use electronic resources effectively.
Christina: *As technology continues to evolve, how can we as teachers ensure that we are informed enough to effectively educate our students?
Swanson: You have to be involved with the technology daily. I belong to several blogs and one of the most important ones is Tech and Learning. Here they always point out the latest in ideas...like the ten best conversions programs, the ten best video production programs. Then I investigate what is out there. It is changing daily and what was mentioned in the chapter is dated. Now it is cloud computing (I still don't understand that) and other concepts. I am a member of a learning community on campus that let us play with technology. It is fun and then hopefully, I will use it in my classes.
Bonnie- How would one go along with getting these types of tech. in their school and set up to use such things as blogs, wikis, and nings?
Swanson: Anything free is something you can possibly use in your classroom if there is not a block on the school computers. I know many Youtube videos are blocked in most schools so I save them to another format and burn them to the CD and then I can use them. I would like for you to get "streaming videos" for your school...it is expensive but oh, it is wonderful. As you start building your resources, you just categorize them on your desktop as to topic area like social studies and then the sub-topics like biomes. You keep on saving great resources in this favorite file. My favorite file is "miles' long and I will be extremely disappointed if something happens to it.
Stephanie Lopez: What are some good literature resources specifically made for ELL students ?
Swanson: The TItle Wave is a great source. Then you can google topic, and ethic group and you can find books and other resources on the Internet in multiple languages. The Children's Curriculum Library from Wisconsin (I think that is the title) has multiple books in multiple languages that all children can access in just a click. This is a resource that I didn't have when I started teaching and it is wonderful.
Steffani W.: *How would I integrate technology and new literacies in a school with very limited access to technological resources? The class I interned in last semester (Broken Arrow district) is a prime example. It had only 2 computers for student use that were sorely outdated and very slow, and the teacher had a (slow) computer. There were no Smartboards or projectors. I saw a TV monitor, but I don't know if it worked or not--it wasn't used in the time I was there. I am really excited about all the possibilities of integrating technology into instruction, but what do we do when we don't have access to the resources and equipment we need?
Swanson: Oh, what a shame that this school is so low in the resources that is needed for effective teaching. AS you noted, for example, I scan everything I need in the class if I can have a REAL copy. I also burn everything from videos, etc. YOu can have the students still do the small group interactions with realia and that would help. The creativity of the teacher is so important here and all s/he has to do is try to find resources that will help in the classroom.
One thing I did was "ask" for old computers that teachers and friends were not going to use when they upgraded their personal computers. I ended up with seven computers that the students could use in the classroom and then save and when we went to the computer lab, we had something to work with.
I would write a grant and get a set of COWs (Computers on Wheels) for your classroom. That would be wonderful. As I said, you have to be inventive and creative but you can do it.
LEARNING LOG 4 Swanson: I loved the way that you interviewed others about this area. The more information we have, the more strategies, the more activities, then the better we can design our lessons to make sure that all students learn.
At the beginning of your answer, write your first name and then answer the question(s) fully.
(REQUIRED) What are at least three main points the authors suggest to improve the topic in your classroom?
Three main points that the authors suggest to improve the topic in your classroom were knowing how to engage in culturally responsive instruction, adapting instruction, and integrating multicultural literature across the curriculum. Culturally responsive instruction is a vital tool for teachers. It is very important that teachers engage in instruction that reaches each and every student in their classroom regardless of their background or culture. Teachers should generate an environment of trust and respect in the classroom and they should celebrate the different languages and cultures within it. Making adaptations to design and delivery of instruction can greatly benefit all of the students within the classroom. A few adaptations that can be made include using writing strategies, providing comprehensible input, and differentiating between intensive and extensive reading. All of these adaptations will help your help your students to gain deeper meaning from the instruction. Lastly, when you integrate multicultural literature across the curriculum you provide your students with engaging texts that recognize the unique contributions of each culture. This helps to generate a learning environment of respect understanding of one another.
Steffani W.: In Chapter 3, the author discusses ways to enhance your multicultural instruction in your classroom. Three main points I found especially important were: teaching for cultural understanding, collecting multicultural resources, and adapting instruction for ELL students. When teaching for cultural understanding, we need to integrate different cultures into our regular instruction instead of only discussing diversity during certain holidays and special units. Building a good bank of multicultural resources--books, websites, blogs, podcasts, etc.--is vital to integrating regular multicultural instruction. Each resource should be carefully evaluated for accuracy, stereotypes, and interest level before being introduced to the class. Adapting instruction for our ELL students is really important because they need an extra boost to stay engaged and be successful in the learning process. The chapter gives oodles of great strategies to use, like repeated readings and how to teach them to differentiate between intensive and extensive reading. Giving ELL students special projects and using engaging writing strategies will also help them stay interested in learning and feel successful.
Bonnie- Three main points the author makes that I find important is additive approach, transformative approach, and tributions approach. The reason I found these important is because you can use these in your classroom at all times and with any subject. Anything having the students doing hands on activites will keep them more involved and learning at the same time.
Stephanie Lopez: Three main points the author suggests to improve the topic in the classroom are using a multicultural book for learning, teachers need to be culturally responsive in the classroom, and there are characteristics of a culturally responsive instruction.
Multicultural learning is very important in the classroom. Teachers need to be able to pick great books that are rich in culture.
Teachers need to be culturally responsive in the classroom by being aware who in the classroom is from another culture. Different cultures may have different attitudes.
There are characteristics of a culturally responsive instruction. The teaching strategies need to motivate students to learn and to be able to activate student's prior knowledge. Making instruction fun and relatable to the students in what a great teacher will do.
CHOOSE TWO OF THE FOLLOWING TO ANSWER OR DO.
2. What is culturally responsive instruction look like to in the content area classrooms.
Christina: I think that they are many factors involved with culturally responsive instruction. First, I believe that teachers need to be aware of their students. They must know each student personally and understand how each student's culture may affect the way that he or she thinks and learns. Secondly, teachers must act on that knowledge during instruction. Teachers should make adjustments in the way that they teach and question the students in their classroom in order to reach each student. They should use a variety of techniques like individual work, collaborative activities, and cooperative learning so that each student can have an opportunity to learn and be successful. Also, teachers should be informed about their students' culture in order to activate their prior knowledge and draw on their interests. Lastly, teachers should develop relationships with their students that nourish trust and respect.
Bonnie- I believe that culturally responsive is important because teachers need to know all their students and their backgrounds. Therefore if a subject or lesson comes up and a student is from that place, area, etc. then it would get the students more intrested and be able to learn about each other and how the world differs.
Stephanie Lopez: Culturally responsive instruction in the classroom is something that needs to be very thought about in the classroom. Teachers need to be aware that not everyone in their classrooms will be from their part of the world. They need to know their background information so they can be sure to not offend anyone and so they can adhere to their learning styles. They need to know where they come from and what they have learned from their cultures so it will be easier to activate their prior knowledge effectively.
3. Support sheltered instruction for English-language learners to make content more accessible to them while providing additive language support Steffani W.: Sheltered ELL instruction sounds like an effective way to teach students trying to learn in a new language, because it mimics the way we learn language naturally--by associating images and events with words and phrases. I took Rosetta Stone Spanish in high school, and it uses the same basic concept. Everything was in Spanish, which really confused me at first, but you start by matching basic pictures with words and gradually progress to more complex images and watching videos of people conversing during everyday life situations. The program was extremely effective for me. I didn't just memorize words, I understood them because I connected the new concept with something that I already knew. I think that's what sheltered instruction does for ELL students.
4. Authentic question:
Steffani W.: How often is it that you have students in your classroom who can't speak English at all? How do you manage that as a classroom teacher?
Swanson: It seems as if I always had someone who was an English-Language Learner in my classroom. I just always focused on vocabulary development for ALL students by helping with word study for the ELL student and having the others in the class help with the knowledge.
- Interview a teacher about the strategies he or she uses to met the needs of students with cultural or linguistic differences within the classroom. I interviewed a kindergarten teacher from the Tulsa Public School system. She has a very diverse classroom with children from many different backgrounds and cultures. She stated that she incorporates things to make the students feel more comfortable and included in the instruction. For example, when teaching numbers she teaches them in English and in Spanish. She also does activities with the students to recognize other cultures' holidays. This allows students to feel welcomed and respected within the classroom which is an important factor that contributes to their success in school. Lastly, she explained that she includes multicultural texts in the curriculum. When possible, she will read her students a multicultural book and base a lesson off of it. They also engage in a discussion about the different kinds of children that are written about in the book. I agree with the strategies that this teacher incorporates in her classroom and I think that they are an important part of teaching a culturally diverse class of students.
Bonnie- I interview my father who is a teacher in Broken Arrow and he has a special ed teacher that sits in the classroom with him while he teaches so she knows what the ELL students are suppose to be doing and figure out how to make their tests up and etc. He pretty much does the same thing day in and day out which I don't agree with but it's his classroom and has seemed to be working for him. He teaches 9th grade Fed. Gov.
Steffani W.: I interviewed a teacher at Kellyville. Since she teaches in a more rural area, she doesn't have as many ELL students than teachers in more urban areas, but she still was able to give me some examples and ideas for multicultural teaching. She said that she once had a student whose mother was from Thailand. He brought in some of his mother's things from Thailand and shared some pictures. She also had a parent who could not speak English at all, but his spouse was able to translate for him. Also, when she does have students from other cultures, she includes songs, books, pictures, traditions, etc., from their culture to make them feel welcome and safe in her classroom.
Stephanie Lopez: I interviewed one of my previous teachers from Kellyville. It is a rural school that has a small population so it is not too often they get diverse students in the class. She said though sometimes she will encounter a student who comes from a spanish speaking family. She manages it by making them welcome, engaging with the parents, and making her curriculum very diverse. The ELL students have the same opportunities to learm and maybe even an advantage because they are getting extra attention.
LEARNING LOG 5 Thanks for being all complete.
At the beginning of your answer, write your first name and then answer the question(s) fully.
(REQUIRED) What are at least three main points the authors suggest to improve the topic in your classroom?
Bonnie-Three main points I found the authors suggest to improve in the classroom is standardized testing: what teachers need to know, authentic assessment: the teacher's role, and checklists and interviews. The reason I found these important is because the teachers need to be familiar with the testing process and the work that goes along with it and also their role in the testing. The only way the student can understand the material and how to take the test is up to the teacher. I find that the checklist and interviews are important is becasue you can see your students and if they are still struggling or improving their work. You can see what to work on so they pass their tests.
Christina: Three of the main points that the authors suggest are understanding the two approaches to assessment, using authentic assessment, and assessing text difficulty. It is very important that teachers understand the characteristics and outcomes of the two major types of assessment. High stakes testing is the more formal of the two forms of assessment and it simply compares the performance of a group of students with students in other schools or classrooms. Although it can be helpful to acquire certain knowledge about students, it should not be used soely for assessment. Authentic assessment is more informal and it allows teachers to make judgments about their students' strengths and weaknesses. Also, teachers should use authentic assessment in their classroom in order to help student to continue to develop knowledge. This type of assessment is continuously evolving throughout the instructional unit, which allows students to grow and learn in a way that other assessment forms do not. Lastly, assessing text difficulty is an important tool for teacher to use. By using several of the text assessing tools, you can determine whether the material is accurate and appropriate for the students in your classroom.
Stephanie Lopez:Three main points the author suggest to improve the topic is authentic approaches to assessment, accountability and standards, and standardized testing.
Authentic testing are approaches such as observations, interviews, anecdotal records, and student-selected performances and products. There are standards and laws that a steacher and school must follow. One of the major laws is the No Child Left Behind Act. This means the school will take accountability by giving standarized tests to the students. Standardized tests are formal, machine scorable, and they are compared to the normative population.
Steffani W.:
1) When your students are taking a formal standardized test, become familiar with the test --learn the language, terms, purposes, and uses of the test. Know how the district interprets and uses the scores.
2) Use observation as an informal assessment tool. Record observations in a written form, like the frequency observation form, so that observations can be stored for records and proof of your competency as a teacher. Also, using triangulation (variety of data collection methods) is important to collect a broad spectrum of useful information.
3) Assessing text difficulty is important so that your students are reading text that is at the appropriate level for their development. To determine text difficulty, teachers can first look up the reading level of the text on Titlewave (super-quick and easy!), give your students content area reading inventories to fill out as they read the book, or use tests like Fry graphs, cloze tests, etc. to determine the text's readability. CHOOSE TWO OF THE FOLLOWING TO ANSWER OR DO.
2. How does a formal, high stakes approach differ from an informal authentic approach? What are the plusses, minuses and interesting facts of each kind of testing?
Christina: Formal, high stakes testing and informal, authentic assessment differ in many ways. High stakes testing is testing a one time performance of students where authentic assessment is a continuous process of observing and evaluating students. The method in which the assessment is performed also differs. The formal method is typically a pencil and paper test and the informal method includes a variety of assessment tool including checklists, observations and interviews. The uses of these two assessment approaches are also different. Typically testing results are used for things like determining funding and aligning curriculum and authentic results are used to measure students' progress and determine where they need help. Plusses of this the formal type are students being more prepared for tests that are necessary in their school career like the ACT and you can determine the range of reading ability in the classroom. Minuses are that its a one time performance assessment and students aren't able to develop as much knowledge because its not a continuous process. Plusses of the informal type is that students are able to continuously grow and are more likely to feel less pressure and achieve more. Minuses are that these assessments are less concrete and should be combined with another method of assessment.
Stephanie Lopez: Highstakes testing is very formal. The objective is to be able to compare the performance of one student or group with the normative of other schools. The test is given paper and pencil and it is multiple choice. Authentic testing is very informal. The teacher make judgements about the student's strengths on content learning. I really like the authentic testing because it allows the teacher to judge the performance based on the student's ability. However, with standarized testing the student it compared to the norm. Standarized tersting can be a plus because teachers are held accountable for what they teach the students.
Steffani W.:
The formal, high stakes approach and the informal, authentic approach differ in their goals for the students. The goal of formal testing is to ensure that students across the nation are on the right track for being successful in the career field after school. The goal of informal, authentic assessment is to ensure that students are learning and that their instruction is effective. I like the quote from the text: 'one focuses on "something you do to students"', the other focuses on "something you do with them or help them do for themselves "'. Formal testing is used to determine funding and track/compare the national progress of our students, but it places a great amount of pressure on students and educators to prepare for these tests. Informal and authentic assessments are more effective at measuring individual student's learning progress, but results are more difficult to compare among students because of the individual nature of each assessment.
3. What is your opinion of assessment? What can you do to make sure that you are assessing what you want to assess? WHAT DO YOU WANT TO ASSESS?
Bonnie- My opinion of assessment is that it is a great idea. It not only helps the techer see where the student is but also show the parent and student where they are. Being able to compare before and afters to help the student along is a great way to show them in what area they need to work on instead of just telling them, you have the materials to show them. To make sure I was assessing what I want to assess I would have checklists and interviews with the student so they can see for themselves and also to show the parents if needed. I would want to assess their progress. Swanson: The type of assessment you are talking about is good. It is called descriptive or diagnostic assessment....looking for ideas that need help and then teaching toward that area.
Christina: I think that assessment is a difficult topic. It is definitely an important part of helping students to learn and grow in knowledge but it also is very controversial. Many people think that formal assessment is the only type that should be used because that is how school used to be while other think that authentic assessment is the way to go. I think that you should have a good balance of both of these in order for your students to be well-rounded and knowledgeable. In order to asses what you want to asses it is important to use a variety of tools. I think if you have students do a mixture of assessment activities than it will be easy to ensure that you are able to asses the correct information and cover it well. Teachers should communicate at all times with students and discuss what they are assessing them on and on the progress that they have made. I would want to assess students skills, knowledge and progress. Teachers need to know how much their students know about a topic, what skills they have to learn that information, and then how much they have progressed and learned after a period of time. Swanson: I agree in the balance of assessment so that you can get the best picture of the student and be able to help that student.
My opinion on assessment is that its a good thing! Teachers should be made accountable of what they are teaching, and how well the student is grasping the information. The only problem I have with this assessment is that it prohibits the teacher on time. The teacher is really not alotted time to do creative things in the classroom because they are on a tight schedule. I will make sure that I assess what I have went over. I will make goals and objectives before I give assignments so the students know exactly what it going to be graded. I want to assess both authentically and high-stakes because I think both have their advantages, and both are very useful. Swanson: I agree both are useful but I really want to go more to the diagnostic or informal for instructional purposes. Quality teachers must be in the classroom and testing can help in locating those teachers but those teacher should not be punished for being in a low economic or starting with a low performing class. Teachers should be measured on their own merits and teaching skills. Steffani W.: I view assessment as an opportunity to collect information about a student's learning styles, progress in learning/understanding classroom topics and materials, and a way to prove your competency as a teacher through the progress of your students. I believe assessments should be performed for a specific purpose that is directly connected with the student's learning success. By keeping in mind my goals for my students' learning, I can measure my assessments to these goals to ensure my assessments are appropriate. I want to assess/measure my student's progress and learning so that I know better how to individualize my instruction to meet their needs.
4. Authentic Question:
Interview a classroom teacher on how the current educational policy decisions and/or high-stakes testing requirements have impacted his or her teaching practices.Bonnie- Again after interview my father who is a teacher at Broken Arrow for the 9th grade, he thinks that the state tests are not that much of a good idea. He said by now the students have it figured out that if they do not pass the tests then they will be placed in easier classrooms and have less work to do. It's also a lot of pressure on the teachers to make sure the students pass but now days the students don't really care and most of them come to school because they are forced. So putting that much pressure on the teachers isn't right. He also said that the test are some-what a good idea for the fact in some situations you can see where the student needs to be placed to help their education and in that case, yes, the tests are important. Swanson: Thank you for interviewing a real person and seeing his opinions.
Steffani W.: Do you have any tips for how to help your kinesthetic, auditory learners during high-stakes testing? One person suggested have a pipe cleaner for that person to "tap" because the pencil noise is so distracting. The rules of the "game" is so against these students. We are asking them to sit still for long periods of time and concentrate. Hopefully someone will let them have some activity between the testing parts. As for auditory, again the rules make it impossible for them to be in the best learning environment. We tell them they can't mumble to self during this time. (I wonder if earphones would be great for everyone and then the mumblers could talk to self and "hear" what they are reading.) I don't know.
WIKI TEXT SET RESPONSE: After reading the text set, how do these books and electronic resources help with the topic understanding?
Christina: These books and electronic resources are a great tool to use. They help you understand the topic by offering a wide variety of ways to comprehend to material that include technology and personal connections. This helps people with different learning styles to each have a way of connecting the material and putting it into memory. Complete topic understanding is much easier to acquire with this variety of resources.
Bonnie*- If a student is not passing the tests for the fact they want to be lazy and put into a IEP class, what do you do?!
Christina*- What is a good way to reduce students' stress about high stakes testing?
Stephanie Lopez: It allows the teacher to hit all of the student's learning styles. It is a great resource to teach the subject in a plethora of ways. It also allows the students to grasp a new technology.
What is a good way to manage creativity in the classroom, while still preparing the students for highstakes testing?
LEARNING LOG 6
Thank for being complete.
At the beginning of your answer, write your first name and then answer the question(s) fully.
(REQUIRED) What are at least three main points the authors suggest to improve the topic in your classroom?
Steffani W.: Three ways the chapter material can improve my classroom are through the use of the B-D-A instruction framework, using explicit strategy instruction, and fostering collaborative—not competitive—groups. Before, During, and After instruction planning ensures that students are engaged and motivated throughout the entire lesson. Explicit strategy instruction allows students to see strategies demonstrated, understand how they work, practice them with a teacher’s help, and then apply them independently. This greatly increases the effectiveness of the students’ strategy use. When building groups in the classroom, it is important to construct them carefully, and to also build your activities in a way that fosters cooperation between groups and group members.
Christina: Three points that the authors suggest to improve the topic of my classroom include strategy awareness and explanation, use of the B-D-A Instructional Framework, and planning collaborative interaction. It is important that you assess your students' ability to use a particular strategy before you explain it. This allows you to know how well the students use a strategy and how much they know about it. Once you have assessed your students on the strategy you should engage them in a discussion on the rules and guidelines of the strategy and why it is useful. Assessment and explanation provides students with a better understanding of the strategy so they can use it more often. The B-D-A Instructional Framework is a instructional procedure that incorporates strategies and activities into lessons that involve content literacy and learning. Its what a teacher does before, during, and after reading and it is crucial to active and purposeful reading. Its is very useful in the classroom and can certainly help your students become more proactive readers. Lastly, planning collaborative instruction is a vital tool in the classroom. Being socially interactive while learning engages students. It also is a comprehension strategy which allows students to collectively construct meaning and sense of what they are reading. I think that it is a wonderful tool to use in the classroom and should be used often and in various ways.
Stephanie Lopez: Three points that the author suggest to improve topic is strategy demonstration and modeling, guided practice, and strategy application.
Strategy demonstration and modeling is something that will help the students. You can use a chart, powerpoint, or overhead transparency. You can demonstrate the strategy by walking through the steps. Guided practice is a a technique that demonstrates the lessons for the students. It will provide experience with the strategy. It gives the steps so the student can feel in control and like they know what they are doing. Strategy application is a strategy instuction that provides enough practice for students to know why, how, and when to use the study strategies that have been targeted by the teacher for emphasis.
CHOOSE TWO OF THE FOLLOWING TO ANSWER OR DO.
2. What is involved in designing a text lesson based on a B-D-A instructional framework?
Christina: There are several things involved with designing a B-D-A instructional framework based text lesson. First teachers must plan activities and discussions that will be done before reading. They should introduce the story and its premise to familiarize students with the topic. This reduces the uncertainty that students bring to an assignment. Second, teachers must read the text themselves and plan several questions to ask while reading. During reading, teachers must ask these questions which should tap into the students' prior knowledge and conceptions of the topic in the text in order to keep the students engaged. Teachers may pause to discuss questions thoroughly with the class. Finally, after reading, teachers should plan activities that will create a structure that refines emerging concepts. Students should be asked to reflect on reading and engage in activities such as writing, experiments, and study guides.
Stephanie Lopez: BDA instructional framework tells you is that readers need varying degrees of guidance. It can help teachers incorporate instruction strategies and activities into lessons involving content literacy and learning. It helps students before, during, and after. It is a great tool in helping students activate their prior knowledge. The during part helps the students cement the knowledge. The after helps the students remember and apply what they learned.
3. How can teachers modify lesson plans to be more student centered inquiry based to connect literacy learning?
4. How can content area teachers plan and design instruction for all students to actively engage and motivate participation for literacy-related activities? Steffani W.: If I were planning and designing my instruction right now, I would use a wide variety of teaching methods and learning strategies to engage and motivate my students. The old cliché states that “Variety is the spice of life,” and it is very true. B-D-A would be my basic structure for my lessons, though, so that I can make sure my students are engaged in the material for the entire length of the lesson. I would also use small group, large group, and whole class discussions, maybe some jigsaw grouping also, to help students learn to study independently and learn from each other. I also would integrate some technology elements, like a blog, Wiki, Voki, etc., into my instruction to gain my students’ interest.
Christina: I think that when teachers are planning and designing instruction, it is important that they use a variety of strategies and methods to actively engage and motivate participation from their students. Teachers should use activities such as collaborative learning to engage their students in discussion. Students learn more when they work in groups and it is more exciting for them to be able to discuss the material with their peers. Teachers should definitely assess their students and explain strategies in the beginning. Then once they have modeled it in the classroom, they should encourage its application on assignments. This process will increase the students' success rate which will in turn, increase their motivation to learn and participate in class.
Stephanie Lopez: They can design their lessons to fit all learning styles. Their lessons need to be hands on and help motivate the students to participate. Such as: jigsaw grouping. Teachers can design games like spoons or pic a hole to help students engage in learning. Teachers should keep in mind the styles of students before preparing their activities. They should remember that each student is different and their leraning style will be just as different.
5. Research states Bloom's Taxonomy or another questioning taxonomy benefits comprehension greatly. Why do you think this is so? Steffani W.: Bloom’s Taxonomy and other leveled questioning methods improve comprehension by allowing teachers to stretch their students’ understanding of a concept beyond the “what color was the hat?” level of knowledge. By using Bloom’s taxonomy, students learn the true relevance of the information they’ve been studying by answering “why” and “how”, applying the material, and evaluating it using their critical thinking skills. Applying these deeper thinking methods expands a student’s knowledge and understanding of the concept, thus enhancing his/her comprehension.
6.. Authentic question
Steffani W.:Have you ever used jigsaw grouping or STAD before? How effective were these grouping options in your classroom?Jigsawing is the best way to get through materials quickly. I figured out that some people would learn a lot and that is better than no ones learning little because we were going through the materials too fast.
Christina: What are some good activities that can be used before reading portion of the B-D-A instructional framework? We will be doing this is class. I hope that you get a good list of activities.
Stephanie Lopez: What are some activites that can be used during the after portion of the B-D-A framework? We will be doing this is class. I hope that you get a good list of activities.
Visit a classroom and note the details about the discourse which is taking place in a discussion format.
WIKI TEXT SET RESPONSE: After reading the text set, how do these books and electronic resources help with the topic understanding?
Christina: I think that these books and electronic resources help so much with the understanding of this topic. They offer personal connections that students can make to the information that makes it so much more interesting to learn about. When students are interested in the topic, they are going to gain such a deeper grasp and understanding of it. I thought that the biographies were especially helpful. Allowing students to read stories from people who actually endured the revolutionary war makes it much easier for them to connect to the information and understand what it was like. I also really enjoyed the images that were available to look at. I think that students would love seeing pictures that relate to the topic they are reading about. It helps visual learners to see pictures that describe the topic. Overall, I think that it is vital to have these resources available to students to enhance their understanding and help them grasp a deeper meaning of the topic.
Bonnie- After reading the text set I think all this resources, books, and internet sites help much better to understand and see about the topic. When students just read out of a text book with or without pictures they don't truly understand the text. With all these different ways or getting to understand the information helps them better see it and learn it. Also makes it more enjoyable for the students to get motivated. Also it's great to see more resources out there then just their text books and school library.
Stephanie Lopez:They help increase the knowledge of the student by showing them information in different ways. It helps the student see the information displayed in a way that fits their learing style. They help the student cement the information better. It makes it easier for the student to recall the textbook information by reading it in a book. It is a fun way to get to know the information better.
LEARNING LOG 7
of the required question.
At the beginning of your answer, write your first name and then answer the question(s) fully.
(REQUIRED) What are at least three main points the authors suggest to improve the topic in your classroom?
Christina: Three points that the authors suggest in this chapter to improve the topic in the classroom are promoting self-efficacy and motivation, arousing curiosity, and making predictions. It is very important that all students have a high level of both self-efficacy and motivation. Teachers need to promote this in their students by providing positive feedback and encouragement. Teachers should also motivate their students by finding out what interests each student and helping them to learn in a way that works for them. Arousing curiosity is a vital step to engage students in reading. If students are curious about a topic, they will read and investigate to discover more. Therefore, teachers should always arouse the curiosity of their students prior to reading a text in order to not only spike their interest level, but also activate their prior knowledge. Lastly, the authors discuss making predictions. These types of strategies activate thought about the content prior to reading. Students must use their knowledge to make educated guesses about the material to be read. This strategy will help to students to become interested in the material to see if their predictions were correct and it prepares their minds for the topic at hand.
Bonnie-Three main points the authors suggest to improve the topic in the classroom starting with self-efficacy and motivation, then goes on with arousing curiosity, generating questions, and making predicitions. To me the most important ones are self-efficacy and motivation. You have to get your students where they are self-efficacy by motivating them at the same time. You get one to have high confident learning style the motivation part will fall into place. By doing this a future educator needs to find out their students learning style and help them move forward with this information. By doing this you can also help the student by them making their own predicitons and going off of those to learn the text maybe also having the student make their own requests about the text so you can sit down one-on-one and help by showing them the answers and why.
Steffani W.: Three main ideas the textbook brought out that I think will be particularly helpful as I attempt to activate my students’ prior knowledge are: self-efficacy, curiosity arousal, and expectation outlines. Fostering my students’ self-efficacy will help them become confident learners, and be more motivated to complete assignments and build their knowledge. Curiosity arousal helps students develop their own questions about a topic, which boosts students’ interest in a topic and motivation to find the answers to their questions. Expectation outlines are fantastic for helping students develop their background knowledge and build predictions off of it.
Stephanie Lopez: Three main ideas the textbook suggests inorder to improve the topic in the classroom are motivation them, instilling and bringing out their self efficacy, and activate prior knowledge. It is important to make sure students believe in themselves. Teachers need to give them confidence so the students will believe in themselves and bring out their best work. Its always important to find a way to activate the students' prior knowledge. This can be done by allowing students to ask questions before they read and to give them a bit of background knowledge on the topic.
CHOOSE TWO OF THE FOLLOWING TO ANSWER OR DO.
2. How can this and other text sets activate knowledge and interest?
Christina: Text sets are great tools to activate knowledge and interest. They allow students to see the material in several different formats which helps them to understand the information on a deeper level. Text sets offer ways to engage students of all different learning styles in an activity that will help them to enjoy and learn the subject. When students' interest is sparked by new tools like online resources and games, they are much more likely to understand the subject better. Therefore, knowledge and interest are linked and text sets are something that combines both and they are wonderful for use in the classroom.
Steffani W.:This text set and any quality text set activates knowledge and creates interest by helping children connect personally with the event/topic. Text sets provide a more in-depth view of an event/topic, and help kids understand that the people that lived in these events had feelings and everyday lives just like they do. Also, text sets include lots of interesting details which always improves students’ interest in a topic.
Stephanie L: Text sets let the students see it used in an actual setting. This helps with the student's interest because its like being in the actual setting.
The students get to connect with actual classrooms, with actual feelings. The will be able to connect and this information will be more valuable
to them.
3. Why do prereading strategies and activities help with prior knowledge and raise interest in the subject? Christina: The activities that you do with students prior to reading are vital to overall comprehension and also to interest level. These activities are things that arouse the curiosity of students and begin to prepare their minds for the subject. They help to activate their prior knowledge because they require students to begin thinking on ideas that relate to the subject and using those thoughts and ideas in different ways. They also help to raise interest in the subject by allowing students to brainstorm problems and make predictions about what they think might happen. Both of these tools help to spark students' interest and imagination, which helps them to be more engaged readers.Bonnie- If you can get the students to use their proir knowledge with their everyday life 9 times out of 10 they will comprenhened the activity and be more interested. Prereading also gets the students thinking outside the box and off each other that way their learning different ways and ideas about the subject or activity. Also by having students make predictions by maybe drawling, telling a short story of what might happen, or even having a classroom disscusion about it still gets the students thinking and being involved.
Stephanie Lopez: Prereading strategies are awesome! It helps with prior knowledge because you get to make connections. It raises interest because the student gets a little sample of what's to come.
This is such a great concept, and i think it is just as important if not more important than the during reading activity. It is important to use this with your students because they will be able to see and understand the pre-information, and it will help them make the connection while they read. It will help cement the information.
4. Schema theory and visualizations are critical for opening a reader's mind for learning.
5. What are three ways you personally use to help open you mind for learning? Bonnie- Three ways I help open my mind up for learning is by using different strategies I have learned from all my classes. The BDA has become a big help in my learning, KWL charts is still a great way to learn my subjects, and the virtual dictonary has been a huge help for me.
Steffani W.: Three ways I open my mind for learning are: skimming the chapter for important headings, terms, and ideas (I don’t know what the official strategy name is, but I know it works really well for me! J), making a list of important facts from the readings (like the 10 facts strategy), and creating vocabulary maps. Vocabulary maps are fantastic for me because I personally really have to understand what the terms mean before I can understand what I’m reading.
WIKI TEXT SET RESPONSE: After reading the text set, how do these books and electronic resources help with the topic understanding?
Christina: I think that these books and electronic resources help with topic understanding by providing students with personal connections and visual aids. These tools are very important within the classroom and are so useful to engage each student in the classroom. I really enjoyed seeing the interactive tour of Ellis Island. I think that it is such a neat idea and that its something that would really get the students excited about the topic and interested in learning more. Overall these resources are very helpful and necessary to incorporate into teaching.
Bonnie- These text sets are great for students to really understand history. No one wants to read a borning old text book that only tells you one side of the story. These are great for students to see and read what really happen on both sides (most of the time). Also anything that is on the computer is going to get students more involved because text books are old and do not keep students interested. Things with colors, pictures, not long texts, etc. will get anyone interested in the topic.
Steffani W.: The text set does an amazing job of bring the topic of immigration to life for kids. A typical textbook would discuss places, events, and the occasional significant figure in an event. These books and electronic resources, however, include vibrant pictures, animation, relatable characters, and emotions that kids can understand. All these elements help children develop a much deeper level of understanding of immigration rather than a surface-level knowledge.
Christina: * What is the best way to help students with low self-efficacy and motivation to be interested and excited about reading? Swanson: I think choice of reading materials, and ways to represent the knowledge is a great way to get interested and excited. Once the student gets interested, then it is the teacher to reward the little steps toward self-efficacy so that that student will take the next steps more willingly. Motivation should be intrinsic.
Stephanie Lopez: They help the students see the topic in a different way. It provides the students with an interesting way to learn. The teacher can build off these resources, which is very helpful. Students will be able to make it personal with these resources and make it relatable to them. These are great
for visual learners.
Steffani W.: Are older students more prone to struggle with self-efficacy and motivation, or is the problem fairly evenly spread across grades? Specifically, I’m thinking of Early Childhood v. Mid-Late Elementary grades.Swanson: I think the older students have more problems with self-efficacy and motivation because they have been "told" by someone or someones along their educational path that they were not as good as someone else. Thus it is like a rolling snowball, the snowball gathers as it goes through school "stuff" If the stuff is good, then the snowball gets bigger and that snowball feels able to do things. If the snowball gathers negative thoughts and remarks and experiences, that snowball quits moving and expects someone else to get it moving for self.Donna Alvermann, an adolescent expert, says schools cause underachievement and aliteracy. I agree.
LEARNING LOG 8
At the beginning of your answer, write your first name and then answer the question(s) fully.
(REQUIRED) What are at least three main points the authors suggest to improve the topic in your classroom?
Christina: I think that the three main points the authors suggest to improve the topic in the classroom are modeling comprehension strategies, incorporating instructional strategies, and using reading guides. In order for students to understand how to use reading and comprehension strategies, we as teachers need to explain and model them. Several ways to model comprehension strategies include using think-alouds, reciprocal teaching, and question-answer relationships to do so. All three of these ideas will allow students to gain experience with using strategies so that they can apply them on their own. Teachers must also incorporate instructional strategies in order to engage students in reading. A few strategies that are great to use in the classroom include KWL, Discussion Webs, GRP, and DR-TA. Lastly, teachers should use reading guides in their classroom to help their students strengthen their comprehension skills. Reading guides are used during reading to provide instructional support and prompt higher-order thinking.
Bonnie-Three main points the authors suggest to improve the topic in the classroom are instructional strategies with KWL, GRP, discussion webs, DR-TA, and Intra-Act, Reading Gudies with Three-Level Comprehension Guides, and the last way with Modeling Comprehension with Think-Alouds, Reciprocal Teaching, QARs, and QTAs. All these different strategies help students to use reading and comprehension while trying to underdstand the text. I would use most of these in my classroom.
Stephanie Lopez: Three main points the author suggets to improve the timpic in your class room are QARs, reciprocal teaching, ativies to use before, during, and after the students are finished reading, Discussion Webs, think alouds, QTAs, and reading guides. These activites will be so helpful in the classroom and will easy to implement. These activites will be fun to use with my students and these strategies are great because they require student participation!
Steffani W.:
1) Use comprehension strategies. Comprehension strategies help students learn how to “think to learn”. Examples of some great strategies include: DR-TA, QARs, QtA, etc.
2) M odel how to read to learn and how to use thinking skills before, during, and after they’re reading
. I feel that this one is the most important…how will our students learn to comprehend their reading if we don’t set a good example for them? We as teachers must model the strategies we want our students to learn, and show them how to expand their thinking and apply the materials to life skills.
3) Use reading guides
. Reading guides are great for independent practice, allowing students to independently interact with the text at three major levels of thinking: literal, interpretive, and applied. This guides students as they read and helps them expand their ideas about the text to a level not achieved by merely reading the material.
CHOOSE TWO OF THE FOLLOWING TO ANSWER OR DO.
Why do motivation and connectiveness help with engagement?
Christina: I think that motivation and connectiveness help with engagement because they are both key tools that students need during reading. Motivation is a big factor in reading and in order for students to be engaged in the process, they have to have the motivation to do so. Teachers should find every way they can to motivate their students because if students are motivated, they are going to be more engaged in whatever it is that they are doing. Connectiveness is also very important. Students should feel connected to the material that they are reading. Teachers need to help students make connections because it helps them be more engaged in the reading process.
Steffani W.:
Motivation and connectiveness can improve students’ engagement because they both promote interest. When a student becomes interested in a material, he/she will want to learn the material because it has become a personal desire instead of an assignment. When children want to learn, they will push against many obstacles just so they can satisfy that desire to understand.
Bonnie- Motivation and connectiveness help with students engagement because both encourge the students to get interested in the subject. Being and staying motivated is the key factor with students and by doing so the students will stay connected to the subject with all these strategies. A teacher must always keep the students motivated.
Stephanie Lopez: Motivation is something that is so important in the classroom. Withouth mjotivation, then there would be no reason to do the activites. Teachers will have to find out they best ways to motivate the students. IF a teacher finds the thing that pushes them to the work, then the studnet will perform much better. Motivation can be as easy as assigning a due date so students will be motivated to finish the assignment on time.
Engagement in the reading process is the key for great comprehension. What are additional ways teachers can stress to activate engagement?
Christina: It is very important that students are engaged while reading in order to understand the text. I think that there are several ways that teachers can activate engagement. First, teachers can find material that interests their students. If students are interested in the material, then they are going to pay more attention and desire to learn more. Also, teachers can make reading something that is fun for the students. They should allow the students to find a comfortable place in the classroom and not make reading such a serious and straightforward activity. Overall, I think that if teachers would use these ideas, then their students would be more engaged and have better comprehension skills.
Steffani W: Teachers can encourage their students’ engagement best by using a wide variety of strategies and instructional methods in order to keep learning fresh and exciting. The teacher can use trade books, videos, plays, etc. to supplement the textbook so that students can read materials that include higher interest levels and perspectives they can relate to. Teachers also should model the use of a wide variety of strategies so that students don’t get in a “rut” with certain strategies. Finding ways to make learning new and exciting is vital to encouraging student engagement.Bonnie- Engagement is very important in comprehension with all subjects. One of the biggest ways I have found to keep students activated in the classroom is by finding proyer knowledge with the studnets, to make things interesting at all time. By finding strategies that are exciting but effective in the same way keeps the students engagement up.
Stephanie Lopez: Engagement in the reading process is the key for great comprehension! My favorite way to activate prior knowledge is the use of the activity of making predictions. It really is the simplest activity as well. Students will be able to use their prior knowledge and passed experiences to answer the questions of what will happen and what will it be about? This is the first step students need to do before reading the text.
Observe a teacher in a content area classroom, observing the questioning strategies the teacher uses.
WIKI TEXT SET RESPONSE: After reading the text set, how do these books and electronic resources help with the topic understanding?
Christina: I think that this text set is very helpful and engaging. Students may not always comprehend information when it is solely given to them through a text book. However, when that material is supported with other activities like webquests, and simulations, and videos, then students begin to make connections and be more engaged in learning about a particular topic. I think that these sources are wonderful tools to use within the classroom and that students would benefit greatly from the use of them.
Steffani W: My favorite part of this text set was the PBS episode on the Dust Bowl. I really learned a lot from watching just the part I watched…I loved the interviews with the people who had actually experienced the Dust Bowl and what it was like. Just like the other text sets, these supplemental sources bring the event to life because they give the opportunity to see what the event looked, sounded, maybe even smelled/tasted like. Also, you can feel the emotions that these people felt as they experienced the Dust Bowl.Bonnie- These text sets are very engaging and helpful. Most students don't want to sit and read out of a text book or understand what they just read. They just do the assignment and turn it in without even learning from it or understanding. By getting the students other choices and access to more information over the topic the students should and would stay engaged. STEPHANIE LOPEZ: They help the student see the text in a whole new way! It is exciting to see information in different way and literature. These will help the students understand and make a personal connection. They help keep the students interest. You can see the emotion people felt during the text set. Students like to be able to make connection in order to get to know the information better.
Christina: *When using strategies to guide reading comprehension in the classroom, which is better to use instructional strategies or modeling? Swanson: You will model the strategies that you are going to incorporate into the vocabulary, comprehension parts of the lesson. You will select a few of the four boxes (adapted to your grade level) and have them as the focus for the year. Then you will model, model, model, and then have them apply, apply, apply. When they "have it" you will add another strategy to model and then have them apply.
Bonnie- How would you get students to identify major undersrtandings and potential problems with prior use when planning a QtA lesson? Swanson; You will know your students well and you will know basically how they think and plan for the concept. Then you will start providing background information and start by asking, "What would you do and why?" Then ask why the author chose what to do. What other options could he have chosen? Why make this choice? Was it right or wrong? Support your answers. Students should read through the eyes and experiences of the author and see the "right" picture and events in the author writes.
Steffani W.: How do you engage students in reading material when they continually shrug and say “I don’t know”…even when you ask them all kinds of questions to help them think? I had this happen last week in tutoring, and it was tough! How do you make kids think when they’re determined NOT to? Swanson: Yes, that is true that when students have learned to avoid thinking by saying "I don't know." In your classroom you will not accept that as an answer. You will state that is a "NO" phrase because everyone can add onto the concept. In tutoring, your time is so short and you are trying to change not only the reading skills but his/her attitudes toward reading. You will have to state, what part of that question don't you understand? You can break it down into parts and see if he/she knows a part of the question. Also, when you ask the student to analyze when they have not taken the prior steps in a taxonomy like application, it will be hard to get beyond the I don't know phase.
Stephanie Lopez: How do you activate the prior knowledge of Ell students? Swanson: This can be started with a simple question of tell me what you know about ????. Then if they know nothing, you start the talk, look for videos and other visuals for background, talk some more, and then have more background development. The best source of background is realia and if you can't do that then the more experiences which are based on sight, sense, sound, feelings should be used.
LEARNING LOG 9
At the beginning of your answer, write your first name and then answer the question(s) fully.
(REQUIRED) What are at least three main points the authors suggest to improve the topic in your classroom?
Christina: The three main points that the authors suggest to improve the topic in your classroom in this chapter are activating what students know about words, defining words in the context of their use, and using vocabulary-building strategies. First, the authors discuss the importance of activating prior knowledge. Activities such as word exploration, brainstorming, and word sorts are great for this purpose because they get the students' minds focused on what they already know about the words. Defining words in the context of their use is also a very important part of vocabulary development. Activities such as vocabulary self-collection and definition word maps invite students to use their text to determine how words are defined in their natural context. Lastly, using vocabulary-building strategies in the classroom will allow students to build on their knowledge of words and show them how to construct meaning. Using things like context, typographic clues, and syntactic and semantic clues can all help students approximate the meaning of words within a text. Steffani W.: Graphic organizers provide opportunities to use content vocabulary to describe chapter topics, or to define chapter vocabulary. They provide a visual representation of the relationships between concepts/words. Vocabulary strategies like vocabulary self-collection strategy and concept of definition maps help students build understanding of words in their context and the characteristics of the word that affect its meaning(s). Activating prior knowledge about students’ interactions with words helps build the proper base for vocabulary instruction. Using pictures and real-life scenarios can help students activate and build upon their own background knowledge.
Bonnie- At least three main points the authors suggest to improve the topic in your classroom are vocab building strategies, graphic organizers, and activating prior knowledge about words. The authors suggest more great topics and ideas but these three great ideas stuck out to me. The graphic organizers was the best one in my book. Getting the students to see the text and breaking it down for them is prob. one of the best ways to get them on the same page and understanding the text.
Stephanie L: Three main points the author suggests to improve the topic in your classroom are graphic organizers, showing students how to make their own connections, and activities to activate what students know about words. I really like all these points because they are all needed during a lesson. Graphic organizers are helpful. It is really important to know different way to get students to make connections. Activating prior knowledge is always important and must be done always.
CHOOSE TWO OF THE FOLLOWING TO ANSWER OR DO.
2. Why should students know the word structure (Greek and Latin roots and history)? Steffani W.: Knowing the meaning of the individual parts of a word increases the understanding of the word as a whole. It helps students understand the word by learning about its background, instead of just memorizing the meaning.
Christina: I think that students should know the word structure because it is very beneficial and will help them to understand the meaning of the word. By knowing the roots of the word, students will be able to think about how what those roots mean, and how they contribute to the meaning of the entire word. This is also a skill that they can use for the rest of their life. If they remember the Greek and Latin roots that they learn, then it can help when reading new texts to not only understand the meaning of words, but also to comprehend the text as a whole.
Bonnie- Getting the students to understand the word structure is very important because it provides information clues about its meaning. Analyzing a word's structure, is a second vocabulary-building strategy that students can use to predict meaning.
Stephanie L: I think its important that students know the word structure because it will help them predict meaning with new words. I had to do this in one of my english classes in highschool and I can still remember the root words! It has defininetly helpful in studying. This will help students make meaning of the entire sentence as well.
3. Why should the language of an academic discipline be taught within the context of concept development?
4. What activities for vocabulary concept development help student define words? Steffani W.: Activities like semantic feature analysis (SFA), concept circles, and categorization activities can help students define words and build their understanding of the word meaning and the concepts associated with the word.
Christina: Some of the activities that are helpful to students for vocabulary concept development that help them define words include concept of definition word maps, semantic feature analysis, and concept circles. The concept of definition word maps are great for organizing conceptual information in the process of defining a word. The semantic feature analysis is also a good activity to use because it establishes a meaningful link between students' prior knowledge and words that are conceptually related to one another. Lastly, the concept circles are beneficial for students as well. They must know the definition of words and relate them conceptually to one another. This can help them to define a word by knowledge of the other words in the circle. Bonnie- Activities that will help students define words that I have learned throughout this chapter is graphic organizer walk-through, word exploration, brainstorming, list-group-label (LGL). All these activites would be great help to students and their vocab concept development.
Stephanie L: There are some activities for vocabulary concept development. For example, word exploration, list group-label, brainstorming, word sorts, concept circles, semantic feature analysis, and word maps. These activites help the student define words and help them cement the knowledge.
5.Authentic Question:
Visit a middle level classroom and observe how the teacher develops general and technical vocabulary
Christina: *What are the best strategies to use when we are helping ELL students with vocabulary development? Swanson: We know that listening vocabulary is developed before speaking vocabulary. Speaking vocabulary is developed before reading and then writing vocabulary. Thus, the most important vocabulary development is exposure to words and then have then experience as much as possible the word. If it is not realia, then it is a resource that has sound, pictures, visuals, movies, etc. so that most of the senses are used to illustrate the word. Then it is the multiple use of the words to make it go into long term memory. The teacher has to plan well the vocabulary development for especially the ELL students but vocabulary development should be used for ALL students.
Steffani W.: *I didn't see anything in the text about using word walls as a vocabulary development tool. How do you feel about using word walls as part of vocabulary development instruction? Swanson: I love word walls and personal word walls. The word walls should be color coded either for parts of speech or use in the classroom (social studies, math). The words should be configured (as to shape) and have a visual connected to them. The words should be visual to all students. As for the personal word wall, the words from the wall can be printed onto the personal word wall (that is for the visual problem), and on the other side should be words the student spelled incorrectly in writing or want to have in his writing.
Stephanie L: * Is it okay for the teacher to get in a routine of using the same activites for every lesson or at least using them occasionally? Swanson: It depends on the activity. For the primary grades, the reading of the language experience or the paragraph should be everyday at the same time. The counting of the numbers should be everyday. As you go up the grades, KWL+ chart can be okay at first but then it is overused in many cases when there are multiple ways of representing compare/contrast concepts. The more ways the student is exposed to the concept, the better the chances for learning the concept.
WIKI TEXT SET RESPONSE: After reading the text set, how do these books and electronic resources help with the topic understanding?
Christina: I believe that these resources would be very helpful with topic understanding. When we offer our students a variety of opportunities to learn, they greatly benefit from it. I really think that they will enjoy engaging in activities like a thinkquest and looking a real photographs from the events that they are learning about. I think that the students gain a much deeper understanding when they are provided with multiple resources from which to learn and acquire information.
Steffani W.: I think the War Between the States is one of the easier historical time periods to actually teach, because there are so many resources available for this time period. There are lots of videos, trade books, WebQuests, etc., etc. available to make the events come alive! I love the website that provides actual photographs from the Civil War…I think that would fascinate older kids. It’s really cool to me, anyway. I also love Pink and Say by Patricia Polacco. Bonnie- War Between States would be a much easier topic to teach your students for the fact we live in America. With all these different resources besides the text book I believe it gives the studenst a better chance of understanding the topic. It also makes them see and hopefully become more intereste.
Stephanie L: It presents the topic in a new way. It is important to teach the topic in a varied way, so that students with every learning styles will benefit from the lesson There are so many resources for electronic learning that it is unreal. There are games, real life occurences, and anything you could think of on the internet that could supplement your lesson plan. Books help students make a meaningful connection with the characters in the book.
LEARNING LOG 10
Thank you for your task commitment...your metacognition....your application.
At the beginning of your answer, write your first name and then answer the question(s) fully.
(REQUIRED) What are at least three main points the authors suggest to improve the topic in your classroom?
Christina: I think that the three main points that the authors suggest are the use of writing to learn (WTL), academic journals, and writing in disciplines in the classroom. Writing to learn uses a process of exploration, motivation, and clarification as students engage in writing. This helps students go about the task of making meaning. There are many instructional activities that support WTL, some of which include unsent letters, biopoems, and microthemes. Academic journals are also of great use in the classroom and serve a variety of purposes. They are a great way to engage students in a process of writing in which they can create knowledge and understanding. There are many different types of academic journals including response journals, learning logs, and double-entry journals. Lastly, the authors suggest the use of writing in disciplines in the classroom. This involves more formal, elaborate and well-thought-out writing on the part of students. RAFT writing and Research-Based writing are two different kinds of writing disciplines that can be used in the classroom.
Bonnie- Three main points I think the authour makes in this chapter is academic journals, integrating reading and writing, writing to learn, and also writing in disciplines. All of these are very important for the fact that each one has great and different methods of writing and reading. Getting the student involved by doing all thesedifferent learning logs, journals, etc. is great to also have the student understand the text or authour.
Stephanie L: Three main points the author suggests to improve the topic in the classroom are Writing to learn (WTL), Microthemes, and POVGs. WTLs are short and informal writing tasks. They will explore ideas and clarify what they are thinking about in relation to a subject under study. Microthemes are brief pieces of writing that results in great deal of thinking. They are like miniessays. PVOG stands for point of view guide. They are designed to trigger thoughtful reading and writing by having students get inside the skin of a character or a subject under study. All of these suggestions I would use in my future classroom. Steffani W.: Three main ways the authors suggest improving writing in my classroom are: --Integrating reading and writing: Reading and writing help motivate each other. Integrating reading and writing helps students think about what they’ve read and understand it better. --WTL(Writing to Learn) activities are vital in helping students expand and clarify their ideas about a topic they have been studying and/or reading about. As they write, students make connections with the new ideas and build understanding. Some WTL activities I thought especially interesting are: point of view guides, unsent letters, and biopoems. --Writing in disciplines: Writing in disciplines is a topic very important for students to understand because as they go through life, they will need to know how to write in various forms. Some examples of writing in disciplines include: application essays, research papers, letters, interviews, lab reports, etc. CHOOSE TWO OF THE FOLLOWING TO ANSWER OR DO.
2. Why should 6 Traits +1 serve as a foundation for writing? Look up 6 Traits plus one (
Christina: I think that 6 traits +1 is a great foundation for writing for a couple of reasons. First, all of the traits are parts of the writing process. They are more specific components of the writing process that entail not only how to write a paper, but also how to write a good one with the proper elements. Secondly, these traits are all components of writing that students need to learn about. They need to know how to use a different voice in their writing, and how to organize their paper so that it makes sense and is structured properly. If students understand all of these traits and how to use them, then they will have a great foundation to begin effective writing, As far as implementing this program into my classroom, I think that it should be done in a step-by-step process. I would slowly introduce each trait to my students and we would spend time talking about each one and what it entails. Then, after we have finished discussing each trait, what it means, and how to use it, then I would have my students begin writing and apply this new knowledge. After the first few times, it will become routine for my students to think about and apply the 6 traits + 1 when writing.
Bonnie- The 6 traits +1 is a good fundation for writing because it shows the students word for word and breaks down the steps for the students. This also explains the writing process much easier so they can see and comprhend it as well. I love the 6 traits +1.
Stephanie L: This is the first time I have heard of 6 traits plus 1. It is a great idea and it should serve as a foundation for writing. The students need to learn it because it is a good way to begin the writing process. It will help them in the future because they will easily organize their papers. Steffani W.: I had never heard of 6 Traits +1, but I think it is a great idea! I think this method of organizing writing is easier to remember and to understand than the typical writing process stages. The steps are self-explanatory—the first step is “ideas”. So easy to understand! Like the Powerpoint mentioned, you could easily use these stages with any grade level.
3. Why write for reader response?
Christina: I think that it is important for students to know how to write for reader response and to be mindful of their audience. This is something that they will have to know how to do for many different purposes. Since reading and writing are interlocking concepts, writers should know how to write for a particular audience of readers. Also, readers should be mindful of a text's content and aware that they engage in transactions with its author.
Bonnie- Writing for reader response helps students use their imagnation and engage the writing for the audience. The author has to write how they wqant the reader to respond therefore they need the text to be very meaningful.
Stephanie Lopez : I think it is SO important to the the reader responses often. It will help them organize their thoughts and they can also put themselves in the position of a character in their book that they are reading. They will have a place to put their emotionsandthoughtson the book. Theywill be so into the topic because the teacher will provoke certain emotions in order to get the students engaged in the writing process.
Steffani W.: Writing for reader response engages the writer and the audience. The writer has to think deeply about how she wants her reader to respond, and how/what she will write in order to evoke that response. The reader will be engaged in the writing because he/she will become caught up in the emotions the author intended to pull out of the reader.
4. Authentic question:
Interview an intermediate or above classroom teacher about the writing, types of writing, writing process, etc. that s/he uses in the classroom. Also check on the assessment procedure. Steffani W.: *The text mentions using journals a lot. I have heard from other teachers that journals aren't a very effective way to get children writing because they feel it's boring. Some teachers say that they had discipline problems when they tried using journals. How did you use journals in your classroom?
Christina: *Since writing as motivation is something that can be used to get students to read, what can you do to help students that are not motivated in either area?
Stephanie Lopez * How would a teacher grade journals?
WIKI TEXT SET RESPONSE: After reading the text set, how do these books and electronic resources help with the topic understanding?
Christina: I believe that using books and electronic resources in addition to a text set is a great way for teachers to aid their students in topic understanding. It certainly enhances their knowledge of the subject and it sparks their interest so they want to learn more. A few things that I thought would be really useful in the classroom from this text set was the perspectives of children and the videos. I think that students love to hear from their peers and sometimes, they learn more from each other than from adults, therefore I think that the perspectives of children from WWII is a wonderful resource to use because students would learn a lot and be very interested in how children their age lived in that time period. I also like the videos that were available because it gives a sense of reality that students don't get from just reading a textbook. Steffani W.: I loved the Dear America scrapbook, and the government posters. I also really liked the resource that showed WWII from various children’s perspectives. I loved learning what the bomb shelters smelled like! J This text set helped me personally connect with history because I could see it, hear it, smell it, even taste it; I also heard and saw a wide variety of real people’s perspectives on the event. All of these combined help me remember the event much more effectively than just reading out of a textbook.
Bonnie- The book called "The Butterfly" had very good wording and pictures so that students could feel like they weren't reading a text book about a subject but a story. Books and electroic resources are great ways to get students more engaged in the subject rather then reading a text book and taking a test or doing a report.
Stephanie Lopez: These sets will really supplement a lesson! Teachers can use these to enrich their lessons on the topic. It will help them make a personal connection witht the characters and time period in which they are learning. The students will look forward to the literature because it will be more fun than reading a boring textbook. It will give them a way to see the topic in a new way. LEARNING LOG 11
Thank you......for a great response. I enjoyed reading each account
At the beginning of your answer, write your first name and then answer the question(s) fully.
.
(REQUIRED) What are at least three main points the authors suggest to improve the topic in your classroom?
Christina: The three main topics that the authors suggest in this chapter are the importance of text structure, the use of graphic organizers and making/taking notes. Text structure can be very important and when structure is perceived in text material, it can help to improve learning and retention. The two types of text structure include external and internal text structures. Graphic organizers can also help improve the topic in the classroom. They are visual displays that help learners comprehend and retain textually important information. There are several different types of graphic organizers that can be used. Some examples include network trees, series-of-events chains, and problem-solution outlines. Lastly, making and taking notes are an important component in the classroom. There are many note-taking procedures that can be introduced in the classroom to help students take effective notes. Some examples of note-taking procedures are reading logs, Cornell notes, T-notes, and Annotations.
Steffani W.: Three ideas I thought would be especially helpful in teaching students HOW to study are: summarizing, graphic organizers, and text structure. Teaching students how to summarize materials allows them to gather the important ideas and condense them into small “chunks” that are easier to remember. Graphic organizers allow students to have a way to organize and visualize facts and their reflections as they study materials. Learning text structure is essential; without it, students don’t know how/where to find the information they need.
Stephanie Lopez: Three main points the authors suggest to improve the topic in your classroom all stress the importance of text structure. Graphic organizers, Using questions, and semantic mapping. Graphic organizers are visual displays that help learners comprehend and retain textually important information. The using questions with graphic organizers. The lists of questions are as the following: Problem and Solution, Cause and Effect, and Comparison and Contrast questions. Semantic mapping is a type of graphic representation, it helps students identify important ideas and shows how these ideas fit together.
Bonnie- Three main ideas the authors suggest to improve the classroom are importance of text structure, study strategies, and study guides. Under these study texts are some great ideas to help improve the structure of studying the texts. The one I think is the most helpful or would be the most helpful is the graphic organizer. Anything that is visual normally helps with the understanding process.
CHOOSE TWO OF THE FOLLOWING TO ANSWER OR DO.
2. How is internal text structure different from external text structure? Why should students know both?
Christina: External and internal text structure differ in several ways. External text structure is characterized by a text's overall instructional design. Organizational aids like preface, table of contents, and appendixes are all examples of external text structure. Internal text structure is reflected by the interrelationships among ideas in the text. This type of text structure is more about the way that the text is written and how the ideas within that text are connected and related. Therefore, external text structure is more about the way that the text is organized and set up and internal is about the ideas within the text.
Bonnie-Internal structure is very different from external structure. External is more open then internal. For example external is like a table of contents where the internal is more content. Students need to know both I think becasue you do the external first to look for the information and internal is the content area text are written to inform.
Steffani W.: External text structure has to do with the order the author places the text, more like the outline of the text, while internal text structure has to do with the actual content of the text, the topic sentences, illustrations, etc., within the text. Students should know both types of text structure so they know how to navigate through the text to find the section they need (external), and how to read the section to find the information they need (internal).
Stephanie Lopez: Internal text structure is when the text is written to inform. External text structure contain format features. They are aids for the readers. It is very important that that students get to know both types of text because it will help them know the topic and get the information more clearly. Know how to read to get knowledge and how to get the information of the book is important and beneficial in understand the content clearly.
3. Graphic organizers help students comprehend and retain textually important information. How can you apply graphic organizers into the before, during, and after part of a lesson?
Christina: For the before part of a lesson, you could inform students of the topic that they are about to study and have them fill out a Venn diagram with ideas and information that they already know about that topic. This could also be used as a way to brainstorm ideas that they think may be discussed during the lesson. During the lesson, students could use a comparison-and-contrast matrix and fill it in with information that they have begun to learn about two or more components of the topic. Lastly, for that after part of a lesson, students could make a semantic map of all of the information that they now know about the topic that they just finished studying.
Bonnie- With graphic organizers the students can identify what parts of a text are important, how the ideas and concepts encounter the teact, and where they can find specific information to support more important ideas. All of those can be used with before-during-after lesson.
Steffani W.: Graphic organizers can easily be tied into the before, during, and after sections of a lesson. Just this week in my tutoring lesson, I used a graphic organizer in my before and during sections of my reading lesson plan. For the before section, we filled in a brainstorming cluster of our ideas of what our book might be about, with the book title in the center of the cluster. For the during section, I had planned to have my students make notes on post-it notes of ideas that “stuck out” to them in the story, and stick them on the page (but I forgot the sticky notes). After you read, you could have them organize their sticky notes in a graphic organizer. A great “after” graphic organizer is to finish filling out the “Learned” section of a KWL chart.
Stephanie Lopez: What a good question and important topic! The before part would allow students to use the graphic organizer to make predictions about the text. They could use clusters to help them. The during part would incorporate note taking. I like the note taking template where the students use the 40/60 layout. On one side the use the text notes and on the other side they put that information in their own words in order to make a personal connection. The after part KWL chart. They would need to fill in the learned section of the chart, but it would be good to have them fill out the whole thing to sum it all up. 4. Authentic question:
* Steffani W.: What are some ways to begin building good study habits in early grades, like kindergarten and first grade? *Stephanie Lopez: What are some more before ways to use the graphic organizers?
Interview a teacher and find our how s/he applies research/based graphic organizers to enrich writing and reading.
WIKI TEXT SET RESPONSE: After reading the text set, how do these books and electronic resources help with the topic understanding?
Christina: I think that these electronic resources and books can greatly contribute to a student's understanding of a topic. These resources offer a more concrete way of learning the material that is fun and inviting to students. It is important to offer such resources in the classroom so that each and every students has an opportunity to learn. I thought that the tour of the Plimouth Plantation and the dramatic reading of the Mayflower Compact were both great ways to engage students in learning more about this topic. Bonnie- I think these elctronic resources and book help very much. My favorite one with the Mayflower is the website. Letting the students see pictures and what the people may have looked like and the difference in the times would be a very helpful aid with students learning. Plus just reading it out of a text book doesn't show the students everything.
Steffani W.: I loved the Scholastic journey across the Atlantic, and also the videos of Miles Standish talking about the Pilgrims and their crops. The book by Kate Waters was also really interesting because it was written from a child’s perspective, and it also has genuine photographs of Mayflower replicas, and people dressed as pilgrims. These resources would be great for making the Mayflower seem like a real event with people just like you and me, instead of just a stuffy old boat filled with people wearing tall black hatsJ. Stephanie Lopez: They help the students see the information in a more interesting way! It is a good way for a teacher to add to their lesson plans in order to make a more personal connection with the information. The students will love reading about real people that were apart of the mayflower instead of reading it in a text book.
Christina: *What is a good way to incorporate teaching about external and internal text structures in your lesson? Swanson: As you are meeting a text you want to use in your class...the first step is to introduce the format as well as the needed vocabulary. For example, you will see that this is a compare/contrast format because do you see this key words...you can use the Venn in your mind or on paper as you read this passage." As for internal, you will take them on a chapter tour and show them the internal parts of the chapter.
Stephanie Lopez: It is nice to be able to supplement a lesson plan with text sets. Studentswill really enjoy to be able to see the information in a new way! I will use text sets as much as possible.I feel like it is neat to seethe information from a different point of view. Reading out of a text book can be very repetivitive and very boring! The students will really benfit from the text sets.
LEARNING LOG 12
At the beginning of your answer, write your first name and then answer the question(s) fully.
Bonnie, you need to answer the second question.
(REQUIRED) What are at least three main points the authors suggest to improve the topic in your classroom?
Bonnie-Three main points the authors suggest to improve the topic in the classroom is why use trade books, reader response strategies, and instructional strategies. The reason I think these are important is because as a teacher you have to help and encourage your students to read and want to read. By letting them read a book or text they want for a reward. Trade books are a great idea for classrooms cause they are on subjects or stories the students want to read about or learn about. Reader response has a lot of good reasons to use in the classroom, for example, the students develop ownership or their reading and their responses, they make personal connections with literature, and they begin to view themselves as successful readers.
Christina: The three main points that the authors suggest are using trade books, using instructional strategies for trade books, and reader response strategies. Using trade books in the classroom can be a huge benefit to both the teacher and the students. Trade books are rich in narrative and informational content and they are a valuable complement to most textbooks. These books provide depth, considerate and accurate information, material at a variety of reading levels, and motivation for learning. Overall, trade book help to provide a different type of resource of information on a topic that may be more interesting and engaging to students. A few instructional strategies that the authors suggest to use with trade books in the classroom include self-selected reading and teacher read-alouds. Both of these strategies are a great way to implement trade books into the classroom. Lastly, reader response strategies that are mentioned include reflective writing and post-its notes. These strategies involve students in response to literature and help them develop thinking skills.
Steffani W.: Three main points the authors suggest that I thought were especially important are: instructional strategies, reader response strategies, and the use of trade books. Using trade books in the classroom is a great way to supplement your textbooks and make the topic more interesting for your students. With the trade books, it is important to use instructional and reader response strategies to maximize your students’ learning from the trade books. Some instructional strategies that can be implemented with trade books include building text sets/class library, sustained silent reading, and teacher read-alouds. Reader response strategies extend the student’s learning experience beyond the pages of the book through strategies like reflective writing, post-it notes, and improvisational drama.
Stephanie Lopez: Three main points authors suggest are trade books, Self selected reading, and creating classroom libraries and text sets.
Trade books are very helpful! They show the students information in a new way. There are picture books, nonfiction books, and fiction books. Students will benefit so much from trade books because they wont be reading from a boring text book. Selected reading make independent reading central in the lives of students. Such experiences can creat adolescents who want to continue reading after the bell has rung. Creating libraries and text sets are used in teacher libraries. They need to have books located to the topic they are teaching.
CHOOSE TWO OF THE FOLLOWING TO ANSWER OR DO. 2. If teachers knew the problems with textbooks, why do they still use them? What can you do to eliminate the problems? Christina: I think that teachers still use textbooks for two main reasons. First, they use them because of the coverage of content that may appear on high-stakes testing. Teachers are under a lot of pressure to prepare kids for testing and if textbooks are what cover that information, then that is what they use to teach with. Second, I also think that it is convenient. Teachers have quite a bit of preparation to do with each lesson and textbooks seem like an easy source to teach from. They are easily accessible and no extra work is required to acquire it.
Steffani W.: Even though textbooks do have their faults, they are still good guides for the teacher to know a good sequence of objectives that the class should cover. They are a good basic base for instruction. As a teacher, I can use the textbooks as a guide for my instruction, and supplement with other materials, like trade books, and hands-on interactive activities.
Stephanie Lopez: I think they still use them because it is a comfortable position to stay in. They dont have to be very creative. They just say "read the book." I, as a future teacher, will no use textbooks as frequently as I had to when I was in school. I will use more trade books and go to other teachers for help when I need ideas. I will make sure that as a teacher i will be way more prepared than the teachers I had while in school. I will take time to make sure there is a during, before, and after aspect of my lesson plans. 3. How would a trade book and electronic sources text set on an historical event enhance the curriculum?Bonnie- I think a trade book and electronic sources would help big time in the classroom because it gives the students a different outlook on the subject. A lot of electronic sources have great pictures and guided tours that shows students great example of the history.
Make a list of ten trade books which should be included in the study of the American Revolution. Give a rationale for each book and give in a sentence or two how you would use the books.Bonnie-On attached paper!
Steffani W.:
American Revolution Booklist Gauch, Patricia Lee. This Time, Tempe Wick? Putnam, 1974. ISBN 0-698-20300-3. Based on legend, this is the story of a young girl who hid her horse from the Continental army by hiding it in her bedroom for three days. Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. Paul Revere's Ride. Illustrated by Ted Rand. Dutton, 1990. ISBN 0-525-44610-9. Longfellow might have taken some liberties with fact in his epic poem about the ride, but it makes a fine picture book with Ted Rand's illustrations of moonlit landscapes and lamplit street scenes that reflect the atmosphere of the time. Collier, James Lincoln and Collier, Christopher. My Brother Sam Is Dead. Four Winds, 1974. ISBN 0-02-722980-7. This book provides a different perspective on the Revolutionary War—the perspective of a Loyalist family that loses their son during one of the Revolutionary battles. Fritz, Jean. And Then What Happened, Paul Revere? Coward, 1973. ISBN 00-698-20274-0 This is a short history of Paul Revere that concentrates on his eventful ride. It makes a good introduction to this period because, like all of Fritz's short biographies, it is historically correct even as she manages to breathe life into the heroes of our past. Booklist source: http://www.carolhurst.com/subjects/ushistory/revnonfiction.html
Johnny Tremain : a novel for old & young Johnny Tremain provides young readers with the opportunity to personally connect with a young boy who is able to join the Sons of Liberty and fight for America’s freedom.
The American Girl Felicity books are a great way to interest young girls in the events of the Revolutionary War. These books show the adventures of women and children, who are often under-represented in accounts of historical events.
The winter of red snow : the Revolutionary War diary of Abigail Jane Stewart This book is excellent for helping children understand the extensive hardships of the soldiers at Valley Forge, without being overly graphic. Students read and connect with vibrant details and emotions. The book is also written in diary format, so it is easier for struggling readers to read the small “chunks”.
Stephanie Lopez: Trade books are awesome! While I was in school we didnt do a lot of reading in the trade books. We usually stuck to the text books, which were so boring! Im going to use these in my future classroom.
The Tin Heart, Ackerman, N. Cecil's Story, Lyon, Ge. Nettie's Trip, Armstron. Band of Brothers, Fkleming, T. To be a Slave, Lester, J. Follow the Drinking Gourd, Winter, J. Photo by Brady South, Turner, A. The Boys' War, Murhpy, J. Ill Pass for Your Comrade, Silvey, A. Under Siege, Warren, A.
Authentic Question:
Take a poll of five teachers and find out how they integrate trade books into their content area classroom.Christina: I talked to several teachers that I know to see how they integrate text books into the classroom. I got the almost the same answer from the majority of them. It seems that all but one teacher use trade books in the classroom on a regular basis. One of the teachers was telling me that she usually integrates the trade books by first using the textbook to teach the information and then scaffolding that information by reading a trade book on the same topic. Two of the other teacher also used a similar method to this. Another one of the teachers said that whenever they are learning a new topic, each student picks a trade book from a list of 3 or 4 and are asked to read it on their own during DEAR time and at home. Then, after they have all finished their books, they have a class discussion about each book, how it relates to the topic, and what they learned from it. Each of the teachers that used them said that it really helps the students with topic understanding and it sparks their interest. Christina: *What is a good way for teacher to find access to trade books related to the topic that they are teaching? Steffani W.: ***Does the library system have extended check-outs for teachers? I was thinking the library would be awesome for building a temporary text set on a topic, but you can only have the books for two weeks at a time. I HAVE ALWAYS "BORROWED" BOOKS FROM THE PUBLIC LIBRARY. IN MY TOWN, BECAUSE I AM A TEACHER, I AM ALLOWED TO CHECK THE BOOKS OUT FOR A MONTH. THAT IS PLENTY OF TIME FOR A TOPIC. ALSO, BECAUSE I WAS IN A LARGE SCHOOL DISTRICT, I ALSO CHECKED OUT BOOKS FROM THE OTHER ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS. FOR EXAMPLE, I WANTED EVERYONE TO READ A CERTAIN BOOK AND THEN I CHECKED OUT ENOUGH BOOKS FOR CLASSROOM SETS FROM THE OTHER SCHOOLS IN MY DISTRICT. FOR A CLASS THIS LAST SUMMER, I WENT ON AMAZON.COM AND BOUGHT THE DOLLAR USED BOOKS FOR A SET OF BOOKS. IT HAS TAKEN TIME FOR ME TO COLLECT MY BOOKS AND I KEEP ON COLLECTING.
IN OKC, THE FIRST SATURDAY IN MARCH, A LIBRARY SALE IS HAPPENING AND I BUY BOOKS THERE. I GO TO SALVATION ARMY, AND OTHER SIMILAR STORES. I GO TO CHURCH STORES. I HAVE COLLECTED TWO IMMENSE CHILDREN AND CLASSROOM LIBRARIES. THE FIRST ONE WHEN I MOVED DOWN HERE I DONATED TO THE HOMELESS SHELTER. NOW I AM COLLECTING AGAIN AND WHEN I QUIT, I WILL DONATE MY LIBRARY (EXCEPT MY AUSTRALIAN AND POP-UP BOOKS) TO SOMEONE OR SOME AGENCY.
Stephanie Lopez: Is it okay to use ereaders as much as you use regular literature books.
T
hank you for the complete log. I appreciate it.
At the beginning of your answer, write your first name and then answer the question(s) fully.
Why are content area reading strategies (CARS) important for all students at all levels?
Christina: I believe that content area reading strategies are important for students at all levels because they help the students by giving them tools to better comprehend the subject. They can help students understand the concept and relate to it in such a way that they grasp a deeper meaning.
Stephanie L: The content area reading strategies are very important for students at all levels because it gives them a topic to focus on to more fully comprehend the area or subject the students are learning about. It gives the students a chance to form their own ideas around the subject because they are grasping the subject more fully.
Bonnie: Content are reading strategies are very important for all students at all levels because not only does it helps them focus better on the topic but also helps them comprehend the topic or subject their studying and learning about.
*What is a good way to monitor and assess what the student has been learning?
Swanson: If you are walking around in the paired reading format, you can "hear" the reading and the comments. Then you will look over the common graphic organizer or paper and see what they have done. Then you can ask for verbal comments. It works! IF the students know they are responsible for working and sharing, and everyone must share, then they work to complete the information.
Steffani W.: Content area reading strategies (CARS) are essential for students of all ages/levels because it provides them with knowlege of how to use the skills they've been taught. In a nutshell--CARS show students how to "read to learn" (quoting Dr. Swanson).
WIKI TEXT SET RESPONSE: After reading the text set, how do these books and electronic resources help with the topic understanding?
Christina: These resources are a great tool because they give you ways to relate to the topic. They provide ideas and information that you wouldn’t get from one source alone, which allows you to form a deeper understanding
Stephanie L: The electronic resources help the student learn in a new and exciting way. It helps the teacher be able to reach every student's learning style.
Steffani W.: The text set adds personal connections to an event that otherwise seems irrelevant and unimportant to students. It adds emotion and place to the topic, which helps students undertand and relate to the topic.
Bonnie: Electronic resources to me are always going to get the students attention a lot quicker and keep them interested a lot longer with all the different ways of learning by almost using every one of the students learning styles and the text sets gets the personal connection with the students and how it could or has related to them in their lives.
LEARNING LOG 2
T
hank you for the complete log. I appreciate it.
At the beginning of your answer, write your first name and then answer the question(s) fully.
- (REQUIRED) What are at least three main points the authors suggest to improve the topic in your classroom?
- Christina: Three points that the authors suggested to improve the topic in your classroom were to teach with texts and use those texts strategically, to balance content and process, and to teach and learn with new literacies. The book mentions that texts are indispensable sources of information, meaning-making, and knowledge construction. Therefore, students should have this resource available to them. Also, teachers need to teach their students not only the content information but also strategies to become knowledgeable about that content information. Lastly, teachers should not only become knowledgeable themselves about new literacies, but they should also share this information with their students and use this to enhance learning in the classroom.
Bonnie: Three main points that the authors suggested to improve your topic in your classroom is to teach balance content and process, text strategically, and effectively using technology.Stephanie L: The three main points the authors suggest to improve the topic in my future classroom is to teach balance content and process, text strategically, and effectively using technology.
CHOOSE TWO OF THE FOLLOWING TO ANSWER OR DO.
2. Why is reading to learn a strategic, meaning-making process?Christina: Reading to learn is a strategic, meaning-making process because students must use strategies to effectively comprehend the information and once the information is understood, students use reading as a tool to construct, clarify, and extend meaning in a given discipline.
Steffani W: Reading to learn is a strategic, meaning-making process because students must employ strategic processes to the materials they encounter in order to construct personal meaning from them.
Bonnie: Reading to learn is a strategice, meaning-making process because students must use different strategies to comprehend all the information. After the different information is understood by the students making process comes into play.
Stephanie L: Reading to learn is a strategic, meaning-making process because the students need to make connections while reading in order to fully comprehend the text. They need to be able to use their background knowledge and make personal meaning so they can be able to more easily recall and remember what they read.
3. Demonstrate the importance of prior learning (schema) has in making reading as a meaning-making process.
4. Evaluate your skills to the chart on page 21. How good of a reader are you?Christina: According to the chart, I am a pretty good reader. I use a lot of the bulleted strategies listed when I read, but there are some ways that I can improve. Three things that I do well when reading are that I have clear goals, I read selectively, and I integrate prior knowledge. Other strategies that I should work on and begin to incorporate into my reading are making predictions, questioning the text and thinking about the authors of the text. I think that if I can begin to do these things then I can learn even more and improve as a reader. (Swanson: Please elaborate. It is in the elaboration where the learning will take place. You will forget the lists soon but you will not forget the personalization of the content.)
Steffani W: The chart says I'm a good reader. I use a lot of the strategies listed, such as: setting goals, skimming, reading selectively, monitoring my understanding, and evaluating the quality/value of what I'm reading, among others. There were a few strategies I don't use much, if at all: thinking about the authors, making predictions, and constructing, revising, and questioning meaning as I read.
Bonnie: After evaluating the chart I would say I'm an ok reader. It is hard for me to focus on the text at all times. I do make predictions about what is to come but also at the same time I don't attend closely to the setting and characters when reading narrative.
Stephanie Lopez: The chart says I am a good reader. Most of the strategies that are listed, I use when I am reading. Some of the strategies I can improve on, but after reading the strategies I will make the accomadations for the future!
5. Authentic question: Interview a content area teacher on effective teaching strategies that he or she uses to engage students in learning.
Christina: * As teachers, how do we balance teaching students what they need to know and ways to learn it?
Swanson: The ways to learn the content must be integrated into the content and make it as seamless as possible. For example, you will be teaching the visual dictionary (next week's lesson) and you will be using this format for a couple of weeks and using this format for your word wall. Then when you "know" they "know" it, you will add another vocabulary strategy and teach that for a few weeks. Then the students can choose which one they WANT to use to learn vocabulary. Then you add another one. By the end of the year, the students will have about 8 to 12 vocabulary strategies to select the BEST one for them. You do the same with the opening, metacognition, and closing.
Steffani W's Question: What are some really good ways to activate background knowledge in young children (PK-1st grade)?
Bonnie J's Question: What are some of the ways to get students to describe their background knowledge and help them understand the importance of it?
Stephanie L's Question: What is a good way to keep organized while trying to get the students to learn the text?
LEARNING LOG 3
At the beginning of your answer, write your first name and then answer the question(s) fully.
Stephanie Lopez: Three points the the author suggest to improve the topic in your classroom are using blogs, learning how to evaluate websites, and using internet inquiries. These tools are out there for teachers to use. I really like the idea of using blogs. I cannot wait to learn more from this READ class to take into my future classroom. Students are already technology savvy. Most of what they do at home for fun is with technology. It is imperative that we further increase their knowledge in technology and show them how to use technology for learning.
Steffani W. : The author suggests using several technology forms to enhance instruction of new literacies. Three main ones include:
1) Blogs:Set up a lbog for the class and give each stuudent an individual blog. Post topics for discussion relevant to class topics. This gives students the opportunity to exercise personal expression on their individual blogs and group discussions about the materials.
2) Wikis: Wikis allow for collaborative discussions about classroom topics, and can be divided into large, small, or whole group discussions.
3) Internet workshops: Internet workshops provide students with independent time to research and explore new literacies online, scaffolded by the teacher and minilessons he/she may present.
Bonnie- Three main points the author suggest that I found important were:
1. Hypermedia- the reason I found this one important is because it covers all the learning styles and makes the learning more intresting.
2. Blogs, Wikis, and Nings- I found this one a great idea for the fact students can interact with other students not in their schools to help learn and discuss the same topic. Maybe get more ideas, better help each other understand, and see things from a different mind.
3. Internet Inquiries- this would help students find more things out about the subject they are learning. Would also help them better understand the subject by getting different infomation then their text books at school.
CHOOSE TWO OF THE FOLLOWING TO ANSWER OR DO.
2. Why is learning with new literacies essential for implementation into the curriculum?Christina: Learning with new literacies is essential for implementation into the curriculum because proficient use of technologies has actually become a content standard. Students are expected to know how to use technologies for information and communication. Therefore, it is vital that teachers implement these new literacies into the curriculum so that students become familiar with and adapt to using them. Teachers can use them in a variety of ways in their classroom and students will enjoy and benefit from learning new ways to research and document information.
Stephanie Lopez: Learning new literacies will improve the teacher's performance. It give the teacher an extra edge with the student's learning styles. Teachers need to be able to by flexible with their teacher styles. And, that will be possible by learning new literacies. As a future teacher I know that I need to make my lessons vary in the way I present the information. New literacies and up to date technology will be the way to do it.
Bonnie- New literacies would improve the learning in classrooms because students these days are into all the technology and by bring something into the classroom students are comfortable with would help better with their learning. Also with the way technology works these days and all the things out there like the hypermedia, blogs, wikis, nings, internet inquiries, etc. this would cover all the learning styles for all the students.
3. What are the similarities between the new literacies and the traditional print? What are the differences? What is the same? Use a Venn diagram.
Steffani W.: Here is my Venn diagram
4. Why are the new literacies not integrated into the most classrooms?Christina: I believe that new literacies are not integrated into classrooms for a variety of reasons. Some teachers are not very tech-savy and do not know how to use the technology themselves and therefore are not able to teach their students how to do so. Another reason could be that teachers are too lazy to integrate them into their curriculum. Although it is vital to students to learn this new information, some teachers do not want to add anything else to their instruction. Lastly, I think some teachers are afraid that they do not have the time to teach their students these new literacies. They may feel that other content information is more important for their students to learn and would rather devote their teaching time to that.
Stephanie Lopez: I believe new literacies are not integrated into the classroom because teachers are very nervous to try new things. They want to do the same practices and lessons that came before them because it is easier and more comfortable for them. They do not like adding new things because it presents a challenge for them. They feel as if they do not have the time to learn the new technologies that are available to them. They do not take the time because they feel like they are already spending a lot of time presenting required materials. I feel like this has to change, and it will with me as a future teacher.
Steffani W.: I feel that the reason most teachers don't integrate these new literacies is that they lack the time and confidence to explore and implement new technologies. Another issue might be lack of access to equipment in the schools that the need to effecteivley implement the new literacies. Teachers also may feel that they would lose some control of the classroom by doing discussions and assignments online instead of in class.
Bonnie- I think the new literacies are not integrated into most of the classrooms because a lot of teachers are "old fashion" and not tech smart. There are use to the old ways and don't want to change anything about it. That also goes along with learning every students learning style. Also a lot of school systems won't and can't afford computers or tech. for al the classrooms.
5. Authentic question:
Interview a middle-school or high school student about the use of electronic texts. What types of skills and strategies do students need to possess in order to use electronic resources effectively.
Christina: *As technology continues to evolve, how can we as teachers ensure that we are informed enough to effectively educate our students?
Swanson: You have to be involved with the technology daily. I belong to several blogs and one of the most important ones is Tech and Learning. Here they always point out the latest in ideas...like the ten best conversions programs, the ten best video production programs. Then I investigate what is out there. It is changing daily and what was mentioned in the chapter is dated. Now it is cloud computing (I still don't understand that) and other concepts. I am a member of a learning community on campus that let us play with technology. It is fun and then hopefully, I will use it in my classes.
Bonnie- How would one go along with getting these types of tech. in their school and set up to use such things as blogs, wikis, and nings?
Swanson: Anything free is something you can possibly use in your classroom if there is not a block on the school computers. I know many Youtube videos are blocked in most schools so I save them to another format and burn them to the CD and then I can use them. I would like for you to get "streaming videos" for your school...it is expensive but oh, it is wonderful. As you start building your resources, you just categorize them on your desktop as to topic area like social studies and then the sub-topics like biomes. You keep on saving great resources in this favorite file. My favorite file is "miles' long and I will be extremely disappointed if something happens to it.
Stephanie Lopez: What are some good literature resources specifically made for ELL students ?
Swanson: The TItle Wave is a great source. Then you can google topic, and ethic group and you can find books and other resources on the Internet in multiple languages. The Children's Curriculum Library from Wisconsin (I think that is the title) has multiple books in multiple languages that all children can access in just a click. This is a resource that I didn't have when I started teaching and it is wonderful.
Steffani W.: *How would I integrate technology and new literacies in a school with very limited access to technological resources? The class I interned in last semester (Broken Arrow district) is a prime example. It had only 2 computers for student use that were sorely outdated and very slow, and the teacher had a (slow) computer. There were no Smartboards or projectors. I saw a TV monitor, but I don't know if it worked or not--it wasn't used in the time I was there. I am really excited about all the possibilities of integrating technology into instruction, but what do we do when we don't have access to the resources and equipment we need?
Swanson: Oh, what a shame that this school is so low in the resources that is needed for effective teaching. AS you noted, for example, I scan everything I need in the class if I can have a REAL copy. I also burn everything from videos, etc. YOu can have the students still do the small group interactions with realia and that would help. The creativity of the teacher is so important here and all s/he has to do is try to find resources that will help in the classroom.
One thing I did was "ask" for old computers that teachers and friends were not going to use when they upgraded their personal computers. I ended up with seven computers that the students could use in the classroom and then save and when we went to the computer lab, we had something to work with.
I would write a grant and get a set of COWs (Computers on Wheels) for your classroom. That would be wonderful. As I said, you have to be inventive and creative but you can do it.
LEARNING LOG 4
Swanson: I loved the way that you interviewed others about this area. The more information we have, the more strategies, the more activities, then the better we can design our lessons to make sure that all students learn.
At the beginning of your answer, write your first name and then answer the question(s) fully.
Three main points that the authors suggest to improve the topic in your classroom were knowing how to engage in culturally responsive instruction, adapting instruction, and integrating multicultural literature across the curriculum. Culturally responsive instruction is a vital tool for teachers. It is very important that teachers engage in instruction that reaches each and every student in their classroom regardless of their background or culture. Teachers should generate an environment of trust and respect in the classroom and they should celebrate the different languages and cultures within it. Making adaptations to design and delivery of instruction can greatly benefit all of the students within the classroom. A few adaptations that can be made include using writing strategies, providing comprehensible input, and differentiating between intensive and extensive reading. All of these adaptations will help your help your students to gain deeper meaning from the instruction. Lastly, when you integrate multicultural literature across the curriculum you provide your students with engaging texts that recognize the unique contributions of each culture. This helps to generate a learning environment of respect understanding of one another.Steffani W.: In Chapter 3, the author discusses ways to enhance your multicultural instruction in your classroom. Three main points I found especially important were: teaching for cultural understanding, collecting multicultural resources, and adapting instruction for ELL students. When teaching for cultural understanding, we need to integrate different cultures into our regular instruction instead of only discussing diversity during certain holidays and special units. Building a good bank of multicultural resources--books, websites, blogs, podcasts, etc.--is vital to integrating regular multicultural instruction. Each resource should be carefully evaluated for accuracy, stereotypes, and interest level before being introduced to the class. Adapting instruction for our ELL students is really important because they need an extra boost to stay engaged and be successful in the learning process. The chapter gives oodles of great strategies to use, like repeated readings and how to teach them to differentiate between intensive and extensive reading. Giving ELL students special projects and using engaging writing strategies will also help them stay interested in learning and feel successful.
Bonnie- Three main points the author makes that I find important is additive approach, transformative approach, and tributions approach. The reason I found these important is because you can use these in your classroom at all times and with any subject. Anything having the students doing hands on activites will keep them more involved and learning at the same time.
Stephanie Lopez: Three main points the author suggests to improve the topic in the classroom are using a multicultural book for learning, teachers need to be culturally responsive in the classroom, and there are characteristics of a culturally responsive instruction.
Multicultural learning is very important in the classroom. Teachers need to be able to pick great books that are rich in culture.
Teachers need to be culturally responsive in the classroom by being aware who in the classroom is from another culture. Different cultures may have different attitudes.
There are characteristics of a culturally responsive instruction. The teaching strategies need to motivate students to learn and to be able to activate student's prior knowledge. Making instruction fun and relatable to the students in what a great teacher will do.
CHOOSE TWO OF THE FOLLOWING TO ANSWER OR DO.
2. What is culturally responsive instruction look like to in the content area classrooms.
Christina: I think that they are many factors involved with culturally responsive instruction. First, I believe that teachers need to be aware of their students. They must know each student personally and understand how each student's culture may affect the way that he or she thinks and learns. Secondly, teachers must act on that knowledge during instruction. Teachers should make adjustments in the way that they teach and question the students in their classroom in order to reach each student. They should use a variety of techniques like individual work, collaborative activities, and cooperative learning so that each student can have an opportunity to learn and be successful. Also, teachers should be informed about their students' culture in order to activate their prior knowledge and draw on their interests. Lastly, teachers should develop relationships with their students that nourish trust and respect.
Bonnie- I believe that culturally responsive is important because teachers need to know all their students and their backgrounds. Therefore if a subject or lesson comes up and a student is from that place, area, etc. then it would get the students more intrested and be able to learn about each other and how the world differs.
Stephanie Lopez: Culturally responsive instruction in the classroom is something that needs to be very thought about in the classroom. Teachers need to be aware that not everyone in their classrooms will be from their part of the world. They need to know their background information so they can be sure to not offend anyone and so they can adhere to their learning styles. They need to know where they come from and what they have learned from their cultures so it will be easier to activate their prior knowledge effectively.
3. Support sheltered instruction for English-language learners to make content more accessible to them while providing additive language support Steffani W.: Sheltered ELL instruction sounds like an effective way to teach students trying to learn in a new language, because it mimics the way we learn language naturally--by associating images and events with words and phrases. I took Rosetta Stone Spanish in high school, and it uses the same basic concept. Everything was in Spanish, which really confused me at first, but you start by matching basic pictures with words and gradually progress to more complex images and watching videos of people conversing during everyday life situations. The program was extremely effective for me. I didn't just memorize words, I understood them because I connected the new concept with something that I already knew. I think that's what sheltered instruction does for ELL students.
4. Authentic question:
Steffani W.: How often is it that you have students in your classroom who can't speak English at all? How do you manage that as a classroom teacher?
Swanson: It seems as if I always had someone who was an English-Language Learner in my classroom. I just always focused on vocabulary development for ALL students by helping with word study for the ELL student and having the others in the class help with the knowledge.
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Interview a teacher about the strategies he or she uses to met the needs of students with cultural or linguistic differences within the classroom. I interviewed a kindergarten teacher from the Tulsa Public School system. She has a very diverse classroom with children from many different backgrounds and cultures. She stated that she incorporates things to make the students feel more comfortable and included in the instruction. For example, when teaching numbers she teaches them in English and in Spanish. She also does activities with the students to recognize other cultures' holidays. This allows students to feel welcomed and respected within the classroom which is an important factor that contributes to their success in school. Lastly, she explained that she includes multicultural texts in the curriculum. When possible, she will read her students a multicultural book and base a lesson off of it. They also engage in a discussion about the different kinds of children that are written about in the book. I agree with the strategies that this teacher incorporates in her classroom and I think that they are an important part of teaching a culturally diverse class of students.
Bonnie- I interview my father who is a teacher in Broken Arrow and he has a special ed teacher that sits in the classroom with him while he teaches so she knows what the ELL students are suppose to be doing and figure out how to make their tests up and etc. He pretty much does the same thing day in and day out which I don't agree with but it's his classroom and has seemed to be working for him. He teaches 9th grade Fed. Gov.
Steffani W.: I interviewed a teacher at Kellyville. Since she teaches in a more rural area, she doesn't have as many ELL students than teachers in more urban areas, but she still was able to give me some examples and ideas for multicultural teaching. She said that she once had a student whose mother was from Thailand. He brought in some of his mother's things from Thailand and shared some pictures. She also had a parent who could not speak English at all, but his spouse was able to translate for him. Also, when she does have students from other cultures, she includes songs, books, pictures, traditions, etc., from their culture to make them feel welcome and safe in her classroom.
Stephanie Lopez: I interviewed one of my previous teachers from Kellyville. It is a rural school that has a small population so it is not too often they get diverse students in the class. She said though sometimes she will encounter a student who comes from a spanish speaking family. She manages it by making them welcome, engaging with the parents, and making her curriculum very diverse. The ELL students have the same opportunities to learm and maybe even an advantage because they are getting extra attention.
LEARNING LOG 5
Thanks for being all complete.
At the beginning of your answer, write your first name and then answer the question(s) fully.
- (REQUIRED) What are at least three main points the authors suggest to improve the topic in your classroom?
Bonnie-Three main points I found the authors suggest to improve in the classroom is standardized testing: what teachers need to know, authentic assessment: the teacher's role, and checklists and interviews. The reason I found these important is because the teachers need to be familiar with the testing process and the work that goes along with it and also their role in the testing. The only way the student can understand the material and how to take the test is up to the teacher. I find that the checklist and interviews are important is becasue you can see your students and if they are still struggling or improving their work. You can see what to work on so they pass their tests.Christina: Three of the main points that the authors suggest are understanding the two approaches to assessment, using authentic assessment, and assessing text difficulty. It is very important that teachers understand the characteristics and outcomes of the two major types of assessment. High stakes testing is the more formal of the two forms of assessment and it simply compares the performance of a group of students with students in other schools or classrooms. Although it can be helpful to acquire certain knowledge about students, it should not be used soely for assessment. Authentic assessment is more informal and it allows teachers to make judgments about their students' strengths and weaknesses. Also, teachers should use authentic assessment in their classroom in order to help student to continue to develop knowledge. This type of assessment is continuously evolving throughout the instructional unit, which allows students to grow and learn in a way that other assessment forms do not. Lastly, assessing text difficulty is an important tool for teacher to use. By using several of the text assessing tools, you can determine whether the material is accurate and appropriate for the students in your classroom.
Stephanie Lopez:Three main points the author suggest to improve the topic is authentic approaches to assessment, accountability and standards, and standardized testing.
Authentic testing are approaches such as observations, interviews, anecdotal records, and student-selected performances and products. There are standards and laws that a steacher and school must follow. One of the major laws is the No Child Left Behind Act. This means the school will take accountability by giving standarized tests to the students. Standardized tests are formal, machine scorable, and they are compared to the normative population.
Steffani W.:
1) When your students are taking a formal standardized test, become familiar with the test --learn the language, terms, purposes, and uses of the test. Know how the district interprets and uses the scores.
2) Use observation as an informal assessment tool. Record observations in a written form, like the frequency observation form, so that observations can be stored for records and proof of your competency as a teacher. Also, using triangulation (variety of data collection methods) is important to collect a broad spectrum of useful information.
3) Assessing text difficulty is important so that your students are reading text that is at the appropriate level for their development. To determine text difficulty, teachers can first look up the reading level of the text on Titlewave (super-quick and easy!), give your students content area reading inventories to fill out as they read the book, or use tests like Fry graphs, cloze tests, etc. to determine the text's readability.
CHOOSE TWO OF THE FOLLOWING TO ANSWER OR DO.
2. How does a formal, high stakes approach differ from an informal authentic approach? What are the plusses, minuses and interesting facts of each kind of testing?
Christina: Formal, high stakes testing and informal, authentic assessment differ in many ways. High stakes testing is testing a one time performance of students where authentic assessment is a continuous process of observing and evaluating students. The method in which the assessment is performed also differs. The formal method is typically a pencil and paper test and the informal method includes a variety of assessment tool including checklists, observations and interviews. The uses of these two assessment approaches are also different. Typically testing results are used for things like determining funding and aligning curriculum and authentic results are used to measure students' progress and determine where they need help. Plusses of this the formal type are students being more prepared for tests that are necessary in their school career like the ACT and you can determine the range of reading ability in the classroom. Minuses are that its a one time performance assessment and students aren't able to develop as much knowledge because its not a continuous process. Plusses of the informal type is that students are able to continuously grow and are more likely to feel less pressure and achieve more. Minuses are that these assessments are less concrete and should be combined with another method of assessment.
Stephanie Lopez: Highstakes testing is very formal. The objective is to be able to compare the performance of one student or group with the normative of other schools. The test is given paper and pencil and it is multiple choice. Authentic testing is very informal. The teacher make judgements about the student's strengths on content learning. I really like the authentic testing because it allows the teacher to judge the performance based on the student's ability. However, with standarized testing the student it compared to the norm. Standarized tersting can be a plus because teachers are held accountable for what they teach the students.
Steffani W.:
The formal, high stakes approach and the informal, authentic approach differ in their goals for the students. The goal of formal testing is to ensure that students across the nation are on the right track for being successful in the career field after school. The goal of informal, authentic assessment is to ensure that students are learning and that their instruction is effective. I like the quote from the text: 'one focuses on "something you do to students"', the other focuses on "something you do with them or help them do for themselves "'. Formal testing is used to determine funding and track/compare the national progress of our students, but it places a great amount of pressure on students and educators to prepare for these tests. Informal and authentic assessments are more effective at measuring individual student's learning progress, but results are more difficult to compare among students because of the individual nature of each assessment.
3. What is your opinion of assessment? What can you do to make sure that you are assessing what you want to assess? WHAT DO YOU WANT TO ASSESS?
Bonnie- My opinion of assessment is that it is a great idea. It not only helps the techer see where the student is but also show the parent and student where they are. Being able to compare before and afters to help the student along is a great way to show them in what area they need to work on instead of just telling them, you have the materials to show them. To make sure I was assessing what I want to assess I would have checklists and interviews with the student so they can see for themselves and also to show the parents if needed. I would want to assess their progress.
Swanson: The type of assessment you are talking about is good. It is called descriptive or diagnostic assessment....looking for ideas that need help and then teaching toward that area.
Christina: I think that assessment is a difficult topic. It is definitely an important part of helping students to learn and grow in knowledge but it also is very controversial. Many people think that formal assessment is the only type that should be used because that is how school used to be while other think that authentic assessment is the way to go. I think that you should have a good balance of both of these in order for your students to be well-rounded and knowledgeable. In order to asses what you want to asses it is important to use a variety of tools. I think if you have students do a mixture of assessment activities than it will be easy to ensure that you are able to asses the correct information and cover it well. Teachers should communicate at all times with students and discuss what they are assessing them on and on the progress that they have made. I would want to assess students skills, knowledge and progress. Teachers need to know how much their students know about a topic, what skills they have to learn that information, and then how much they have progressed and learned after a period of time.
Swanson: I agree in the balance of assessment so that you can get the best picture of the student and be able to help that student.
My opinion on assessment is that its a good thing! Teachers should be made accountable of what they are teaching, and how well the student is grasping the information. The only problem I have with this assessment is that it prohibits the teacher on time. The teacher is really not alotted time to do creative things in the classroom because they are on a tight schedule. I will make sure that I assess what I have went over. I will make goals and objectives before I give assignments so the students know exactly what it going to be graded. I want to assess both authentically and high-stakes because I think both have their advantages, and both are very useful.
Swanson: I agree both are useful but I really want to go more to the diagnostic or informal for instructional purposes. Quality teachers must be in the classroom and testing can help in locating those teachers but those teacher should not be punished for being in a low economic or starting with a low performing class. Teachers should be measured on their own merits and teaching skills.
Steffani W.:
I view assessment as an opportunity to collect information about a student's learning styles, progress in learning/understanding classroom topics and materials, and a way to prove your competency as a teacher through the progress of your students. I believe assessments should be performed for a specific purpose that is directly connected with the student's learning success. By keeping in mind my goals for my students' learning, I can measure my assessments to these goals to ensure my assessments are appropriate. I want to assess/measure my student's progress and learning so that I know better how to individualize my instruction to meet their needs.
4. Authentic Question:
Interview a classroom teacher on how the current educational policy decisions and/or high-stakes testing requirements have impacted his or her teaching practices.Bonnie- Again after interview my father who is a teacher at Broken Arrow for the 9th grade, he thinks that the state tests are not that much of a good idea. He said by now the students have it figured out that if they do not pass the tests then they will be placed in easier classrooms and have less work to do. It's also a lot of pressure on the teachers to make sure the students pass but now days the students don't really care and most of them come to school because they are forced. So putting that much pressure on the teachers isn't right. He also said that the test are some-what a good idea for the fact in some situations you can see where the student needs to be placed to help their education and in that case, yes, the tests are important.
Swanson: Thank you for interviewing a real person and seeing his opinions.
Steffani W.: Do you have any tips for how to help your kinesthetic, auditory learners during high-stakes testing?
One person suggested have a pipe cleaner for that person to "tap" because the pencil noise is so distracting. The rules of the "game" is so against these students. We are asking them to sit still for long periods of time and concentrate. Hopefully someone will let them have some activity between the testing parts. As for auditory, again the rules make it impossible for them to be in the best learning environment. We tell them they can't mumble to self during this time. (I wonder if earphones would be great for everyone and then the mumblers could talk to self and "hear" what they are reading.) I don't know.
WIKI TEXT SET RESPONSE: After reading the text set, how do these books and electronic resources help with the topic understanding?
Christina: These books and electronic resources are a great tool to use. They help you understand the topic by offering a wide variety of ways to comprehend to material that include technology and personal connections. This helps people with different learning styles to each have a way of connecting the material and putting it into memory. Complete topic understanding is much easier to acquire with this variety of resources.
Bonnie*- If a student is not passing the tests for the fact they want to be lazy and put into a IEP class, what do you do?!
Christina*- What is a good way to reduce students' stress about high stakes testing?
Stephanie Lopez: It allows the teacher to hit all of the student's learning styles. It is a great resource to teach the subject in a plethora of ways. It also allows the students to grasp a new technology.
LEARNING LOG 6
Thank for being complete.
At the beginning of your answer, write your first name and then answer the question(s) fully.
Steffani W.: Three ways the chapter material can improve my classroom are through the use of the B-D-A instruction framework, using explicit strategy instruction, and fostering collaborative—not competitive—groups. Before, During, and After instruction planning ensures that students are engaged and motivated throughout the entire lesson. Explicit strategy instruction allows students to see strategies demonstrated, understand how they work, practice them with a teacher’s help, and then apply them independently. This greatly increases the effectiveness of the students’ strategy use. When building groups in the classroom, it is important to construct them carefully, and to also build your activities in a way that fosters cooperation between groups and group members.
Christina: Three points that the authors suggest to improve the topic of my classroom include strategy awareness and explanation, use of the B-D-A Instructional Framework, and planning collaborative interaction. It is important that you assess your students' ability to use a particular strategy before you explain it. This allows you to know how well the students use a strategy and how much they know about it. Once you have assessed your students on the strategy you should engage them in a discussion on the rules and guidelines of the strategy and why it is useful. Assessment and explanation provides students with a better understanding of the strategy so they can use it more often. The B-D-A Instructional Framework is a instructional procedure that incorporates strategies and activities into lessons that involve content literacy and learning. Its what a teacher does before, during, and after reading and it is crucial to active and purposeful reading. Its is very useful in the classroom and can certainly help your students become more proactive readers. Lastly, planning collaborative instruction is a vital tool in the classroom. Being socially interactive while learning engages students. It also is a comprehension strategy which allows students to collectively construct meaning and sense of what they are reading. I think that it is a wonderful tool to use in the classroom and should be used often and in various ways.
Stephanie Lopez: Three points that the author suggest to improve topic is strategy demonstration and modeling, guided practice, and strategy application.
Strategy demonstration and modeling is something that will help the students. You can use a chart, powerpoint, or overhead transparency. You can demonstrate the strategy by walking through the steps. Guided practice is a a technique that demonstrates the lessons for the students. It will provide experience with the strategy. It gives the steps so the student can feel in control and like they know what they are doing. Strategy application is a strategy instuction that provides enough practice for students to know why, how, and when to use the study strategies that have been targeted by the teacher for emphasis.
CHOOSE TWO OF THE FOLLOWING TO ANSWER OR DO.
2. What is involved in designing a text lesson based on a B-D-A instructional framework?
Christina: There are several things involved with designing a B-D-A instructional framework based text lesson. First teachers must plan activities and discussions that will be done before reading. They should introduce the story and its premise to familiarize students with the topic. This reduces the uncertainty that students bring to an assignment. Second, teachers must read the text themselves and plan several questions to ask while reading. During reading, teachers must ask these questions which should tap into the students' prior knowledge and conceptions of the topic in the text in order to keep the students engaged. Teachers may pause to discuss questions thoroughly with the class. Finally, after reading, teachers should plan activities that will create a structure that refines emerging concepts. Students should be asked to reflect on reading and engage in activities such as writing, experiments, and study guides.
Stephanie Lopez: BDA instructional framework tells you is that readers need varying degrees of guidance. It can help teachers incorporate instruction strategies and activities into lessons involving content literacy and learning. It helps students before, during, and after. It is a great tool in helping students activate their prior knowledge. The during part helps the students cement the knowledge. The after helps the students remember and apply what they learned.
3. How can teachers modify lesson plans to be more student centered inquiry based to connect literacy learning?
4. How can content area teachers plan and design instruction for all students to actively engage and motivate participation for literacy-related activities?
Steffani W.: If I were planning and designing my instruction right now, I would use a wide variety of teaching methods and learning strategies to engage and motivate my students. The old cliché states that “Variety is the spice of life,” and it is very true. B-D-A would be my basic structure for my lessons, though, so that I can make sure my students are engaged in the material for the entire length of the lesson. I would also use small group, large group, and whole class discussions, maybe some jigsaw grouping also, to help students learn to study independently and learn from each other. I also would integrate some technology elements, like a blog, Wiki, Voki, etc., into my instruction to gain my students’ interest.
Christina: I think that when teachers are planning and designing instruction, it is important that they use a variety of strategies and methods to actively engage and motivate participation from their students. Teachers should use activities such as collaborative learning to engage their students in discussion. Students learn more when they work in groups and it is more exciting for them to be able to discuss the material with their peers. Teachers should definitely assess their students and explain strategies in the beginning. Then once they have modeled it in the classroom, they should encourage its application on assignments. This process will increase the students' success rate which will in turn, increase their motivation to learn and participate in class.
Stephanie Lopez: They can design their lessons to fit all learning styles. Their lessons need to be hands on and help motivate the students to participate. Such as: jigsaw grouping. Teachers can design games like spoons or pic a hole to help students engage in learning. Teachers should keep in mind the styles of students before preparing their activities. They should remember that each student is different and their leraning style will be just as different.
5. Research states Bloom's Taxonomy or another questioning taxonomy benefits comprehension greatly. Why do you think this is so?
Steffani W.: Bloom’s Taxonomy and other leveled questioning methods improve comprehension by allowing teachers to stretch their students’ understanding of a concept beyond the “what color was the hat?” level of knowledge. By using Bloom’s taxonomy, students learn the true relevance of the information they’ve been studying by answering “why” and “how”, applying the material, and evaluating it using their critical thinking skills. Applying these deeper thinking methods expands a student’s knowledge and understanding of the concept, thus enhancing his/her comprehension.
6.. Authentic question
Steffani W.: Have you ever used jigsaw grouping or STAD before? How effective were these grouping options in your classroom?Jigsawing is the best way to get through materials quickly. I figured out that some people would learn a lot and that is better than no ones learning little because we were going through the materials too fast.
Christina: What are some good activities that can be used before reading portion of the B-D-A instructional framework?
We will be doing this is class. I hope that you get a good list of activities.
Stephanie Lopez: What are some activites that can be used during the after portion of the B-D-A framework?
We will be doing this is class. I hope that you get a good list of activities.
Visit a classroom and note the details about the discourse which is taking place in a discussion format.
WIKI TEXT SET RESPONSE: After reading the text set, how do these books and electronic resources help with the topic understanding?
Christina: I think that these books and electronic resources help so much with the understanding of this topic. They offer personal connections that students can make to the information that makes it so much more interesting to learn about. When students are interested in the topic, they are going to gain such a deeper grasp and understanding of it. I thought that the biographies were especially helpful. Allowing students to read stories from people who actually endured the revolutionary war makes it much easier for them to connect to the information and understand what it was like. I also really enjoyed the images that were available to look at. I think that students would love seeing pictures that relate to the topic they are reading about. It helps visual learners to see pictures that describe the topic. Overall, I think that it is vital to have these resources available to students to enhance their understanding and help them grasp a deeper meaning of the topic.
Bonnie- After reading the text set I think all this resources, books, and internet sites help much better to understand and see about the topic. When students just read out of a text book with or without pictures they don't truly understand the text. With all these different ways or getting to understand the information helps them better see it and learn it. Also makes it more enjoyable for the students to get motivated. Also it's great to see more resources out there then just their text books and school library.
Stephanie Lopez:They help increase the knowledge of the student by showing them information in different ways. It helps the student see the information displayed in a way that fits their learing style. They help the student cement the information better. It makes it easier for the student to recall the textbook information by reading it in a book. It is a fun way to get to know the information better.
LEARNING LOG 7
of the required question.
At the beginning of your answer, write your first name and then answer the question(s) fully.
- (REQUIRED) What are at least three main points the authors suggest to improve the topic in your classroom?
Christina: Three points that the authors suggest in this chapter to improve the topic in the classroom are promoting self-efficacy and motivation, arousing curiosity, and making predictions. It is very important that all students have a high level of both self-efficacy and motivation. Teachers need to promote this in their students by providing positive feedback and encouragement. Teachers should also motivate their students by finding out what interests each student and helping them to learn in a way that works for them. Arousing curiosity is a vital step to engage students in reading. If students are curious about a topic, they will read and investigate to discover more. Therefore, teachers should always arouse the curiosity of their students prior to reading a text in order to not only spike their interest level, but also activate their prior knowledge. Lastly, the authors discuss making predictions. These types of strategies activate thought about the content prior to reading. Students must use their knowledge to make educated guesses about the material to be read. This strategy will help to students to become interested in the material to see if their predictions were correct and it prepares their minds for the topic at hand.Bonnie-Three main points the authors suggest to improve the topic in the classroom starting with self-efficacy and motivation, then goes on with arousing curiosity, generating questions, and making predicitions. To me the most important ones are self-efficacy and motivation. You have to get your students where they are self-efficacy by motivating them at the same time. You get one to have high confident learning style the motivation part will fall into place. By doing this a future educator needs to find out their students learning style and help them move forward with this information. By doing this you can also help the student by them making their own predicitons and going off of those to learn the text maybe also having the student make their own requests about the text so you can sit down one-on-one and help by showing them the answers and why.
Steffani W.: Three main ideas the textbook brought out that I think will be particularly helpful as I attempt to activate my students’ prior knowledge are: self-efficacy, curiosity arousal, and expectation outlines. Fostering my students’ self-efficacy will help them become confident learners, and be more motivated to complete assignments and build their knowledge. Curiosity arousal helps students develop their own questions about a topic, which boosts students’ interest in a topic and motivation to find the answers to their questions. Expectation outlines are fantastic for helping students develop their background knowledge and build predictions off of it.
Stephanie Lopez: Three main ideas the textbook suggests inorder to improve the topic in the classroom are motivation them, instilling and bringing out their self efficacy, and activate prior knowledge. It is important to make sure students believe in themselves. Teachers need to give them confidence so the students will believe in themselves and bring out their best work. Its always important to find a way to activate the students' prior knowledge. This can be done by allowing students to ask questions before they read and to give them a bit of background knowledge on the topic.
CHOOSE TWO OF THE FOLLOWING TO ANSWER OR DO.
2. How can this and other text sets activate knowledge and interest?
Christina: Text sets are great tools to activate knowledge and interest. They allow students to see the material in several different formats which helps them to understand the information on a deeper level. Text sets offer ways to engage students of all different learning styles in an activity that will help them to enjoy and learn the subject. When students' interest is sparked by new tools like online resources and games, they are much more likely to understand the subject better. Therefore, knowledge and interest are linked and text sets are something that combines both and they are wonderful for use in the classroom.
Steffani W.:This text set and any quality text set activates knowledge and creates interest by helping children connect personally with the event/topic. Text sets provide a more in-depth view of an event/topic, and help kids understand that the people that lived in these events had feelings and everyday lives just like they do. Also, text sets include lots of interesting details which always improves students’ interest in a topic.
Stephanie L: Text sets let the students see it used in an actual setting. This helps with the student's interest because its like being in the actual setting.
The students get to connect with actual classrooms, with actual feelings. The will be able to connect and this information will be more valuable
to them.
3. Why do prereading strategies and activities help with prior knowledge and raise interest in the subject? Christina: The activities that you do with students prior to reading are vital to overall comprehension and also to interest level. These activities are things that arouse the curiosity of students and begin to prepare their minds for the subject. They help to activate their prior knowledge because they require students to begin thinking on ideas that relate to the subject and using those thoughts and ideas in different ways. They also help to raise interest in the subject by allowing students to brainstorm problems and make predictions about what they think might happen. Both of these tools help to spark students' interest and imagination, which helps them to be more engaged readers.Bonnie- If you can get the students to use their proir knowledge with their everyday life 9 times out of 10 they will comprenhened the activity and be more interested. Prereading also gets the students thinking outside the box and off each other that way their learning different ways and ideas about the subject or activity. Also by having students make predictions by maybe drawling, telling a short story of what might happen, or even having a classroom disscusion about it still gets the students thinking and being involved.
Stephanie Lopez: Prereading strategies are awesome! It helps with prior knowledge because you get to make connections. It raises interest because the student gets a little sample of what's to come.
This is such a great concept, and i think it is just as important if not more important than the during reading activity. It is important to use this with your students because they will be able to see and understand the pre-information, and it will help them make the connection while they read. It will help cement the information.
4. Schema theory and visualizations are critical for opening a reader's mind for learning.
5. What are three ways you personally use to help open you mind for learning?
Bonnie- Three ways I help open my mind up for learning is by using different strategies I have learned from all my classes. The BDA has become a big help in my learning, KWL charts is still a great way to learn my subjects, and the virtual dictonary has been a huge help for me.
Steffani W.: Three ways I open my mind for learning are: skimming the chapter for important headings, terms, and ideas (I don’t know what the official strategy name is, but I know it works really well for me! J), making a list of important facts from the readings (like the 10 facts strategy), and creating vocabulary maps. Vocabulary maps are fantastic for me because I personally really have to understand what the terms mean before I can understand what I’m reading.
WIKI TEXT SET RESPONSE: After reading the text set, how do these books and electronic resources help with the topic understanding?
Christina: I think that these books and electronic resources help with topic understanding by providing students with personal connections and visual aids. These tools are very important within the classroom and are so useful to engage each student in the classroom. I really enjoyed seeing the interactive tour of Ellis Island. I think that it is such a neat idea and that its something that would really get the students excited about the topic and interested in learning more. Overall these resources are very helpful and necessary to incorporate into teaching.
Bonnie- These text sets are great for students to really understand history. No one wants to read a borning old text book that only tells you one side of the story. These are great for students to see and read what really happen on both sides (most of the time). Also anything that is on the computer is going to get students more involved because text books are old and do not keep students interested. Things with colors, pictures, not long texts, etc. will get anyone interested in the topic.
Steffani W.: The text set does an amazing job of bring the topic of immigration to life for kids. A typical textbook would discuss places, events, and the occasional significant figure in an event. These books and electronic resources, however, include vibrant pictures, animation, relatable characters, and emotions that kids can understand. All these elements help children develop a much deeper level of understanding of immigration rather than a surface-level knowledge.
Christina: * What is the best way to help students with low self-efficacy and motivation to be interested and excited about reading?
Swanson: I think choice of reading materials, and ways to represent the knowledge is a great way to get interested and excited. Once the student gets interested, then it is the teacher to reward the little steps toward self-efficacy so that that student will take the next steps more willingly. Motivation should be intrinsic.
Stephanie Lopez: They help the students see the topic in a different way. It provides the students with an interesting way to learn. The teacher can build off these resources, which is very helpful. Students will be able to make it personal with these resources and make it relatable to them. These are great
for visual learners.
Steffani W.: Are older students more prone to struggle with self-efficacy and motivation, or is the problem fairly evenly spread across grades? Specifically, I’m thinking of Early Childhood v. Mid-Late Elementary grades.Swanson: I think the older students have more problems with self-efficacy and motivation because they have been "told" by someone or someones along their educational path that they were not as good as someone else. Thus it is like a rolling snowball, the snowball gathers as it goes through school "stuff" If the stuff is good, then the snowball gets bigger and that snowball feels able to do things. If the snowball gathers negative thoughts and remarks and experiences, that snowball quits moving and expects someone else to get it moving for self. Donna Alvermann, an adolescent expert, says schools cause underachievement and aliteracy. I agree.
LEARNING LOG 8
At the beginning of your answer, write your first name and then answer the question(s) fully.
Christina: I think that the three main points the authors suggest to improve the topic in the classroom are modeling comprehension strategies, incorporating instructional strategies, and using reading guides. In order for students to understand how to use reading and comprehension strategies, we as teachers need to explain and model them. Several ways to model comprehension strategies include using think-alouds, reciprocal teaching, and question-answer relationships to do so. All three of these ideas will allow students to gain experience with using strategies so that they can apply them on their own. Teachers must also incorporate instructional strategies in order to engage students in reading. A few strategies that are great to use in the classroom include KWL, Discussion Webs, GRP, and DR-TA. Lastly, teachers should use reading guides in their classroom to help their students strengthen their comprehension skills. Reading guides are used during reading to provide instructional support and prompt higher-order thinking.
Bonnie-Three main points the authors suggest to improve the topic in the classroom are instructional strategies with KWL, GRP, discussion webs, DR-TA, and Intra-Act, Reading Gudies with Three-Level Comprehension Guides, and the last way with Modeling Comprehension with Think-Alouds, Reciprocal Teaching, QARs, and QTAs. All these different strategies help students to use reading and comprehension while trying to underdstand the text. I would use most of these in my classroom.
Stephanie Lopez: Three main points the author suggets to improve the timpic in your class room are QARs, reciprocal teaching, ativies to use before, during, and after the students are finished reading, Discussion Webs, think alouds, QTAs, and reading guides. These activites will be so helpful in the classroom and will easy to implement. These activites will be fun to use with my students and these strategies are great because they require student participation!
Steffani W.:
1) Use comprehension strategies. Comprehension strategies help students learn how to “think to learn”. Examples of some great strategies include: DR-TA, QARs, QtA, etc.
2) M
odel how to read to learn and how to use thinking skills before, during, and after they’re reading
. I feel that this one is the most important…how will our students learn to comprehend their reading if we don’t set a good example for them? We as teachers must model the strategies we want our students to learn, and show them how to expand their thinking and apply the materials to life skills.
3)
Use reading guides
. Reading guides are great for independent practice, allowing students to independently interact with the text at three major levels of thinking: literal, interpretive, and applied. This guides students as they read and helps them expand their ideas about the text to a level not achieved by merely reading the material.
CHOOSE TWO OF THE FOLLOWING TO ANSWER OR DO.
Why do motivation and connectiveness help with engagement?
Christina: I think that motivation and connectiveness help with engagement because they are both key tools that students need during reading. Motivation is a big factor in reading and in order for students to be engaged in the process, they have to have the motivation to do so. Teachers should find every way they can to motivate their students because if students are motivated, they are going to be more engaged in whatever it is that they are doing. Connectiveness is also very important. Students should feel connected to the material that they are reading. Teachers need to help students make connections because it helps them be more engaged in the reading process.
Steffani W.:
Motivation and connectiveness can improve students’ engagement because they both promote interest. When a student becomes interested in a material, he/she will want to learn the material because it has become a personal desire instead of an assignment. When children want to learn, they will push against many obstacles just so they can satisfy that desire to understand.
Bonnie- Motivation and connectiveness help with students engagement because both encourge the students to get interested in the subject. Being and staying motivated is the key factor with students and by doing so the students will stay connected to the subject with all these strategies. A teacher must always keep the students motivated.
Stephanie Lopez: Motivation is something that is so important in the classroom. Withouth mjotivation, then there would be no reason to do the activites. Teachers will have to find out they best ways to motivate the students. IF a teacher finds the thing that pushes them to the work, then the studnet will perform much better. Motivation can be as easy as assigning a due date so students will be motivated to finish the assignment on time.
Engagement in the reading process is the key for great comprehension. What are additional ways teachers can stress to activate engagement?
Christina: It is very important that students are engaged while reading in order to understand the text. I think that there are several ways that teachers can activate engagement. First, teachers can find material that interests their students. If students are interested in the material, then they are going to pay more attention and desire to learn more. Also, teachers can make reading something that is fun for the students. They should allow the students to find a comfortable place in the classroom and not make reading such a serious and straightforward activity. Overall, I think that if teachers would use these ideas, then their students would be more engaged and have better comprehension skills.
Steffani W: Teachers can encourage their students’ engagement best by using a wide variety of strategies and instructional methods in order to keep learning fresh and exciting. The teacher can use trade books, videos, plays, etc. to supplement the textbook so that students can read materials that include higher interest levels and perspectives they can relate to. Teachers also should model the use of a wide variety of strategies so that students don’t get in a “rut” with certain strategies. Finding ways to make learning new and exciting is vital to encouraging student engagement.Bonnie- Engagement is very important in comprehension with all subjects. One of the biggest ways I have found to keep students activated in the classroom is by finding proyer knowledge with the studnets, to make things interesting at all time. By finding strategies that are exciting but effective in the same way keeps the students engagement up.
Stephanie Lopez: Engagement in the reading process is the key for great comprehension! My favorite way to activate prior knowledge is the use of the activity of making predictions. It really is the simplest activity as well. Students will be able to use their prior knowledge and passed experiences to answer the questions of what will happen and what will it be about? This is the first step students need to do before reading the text.
Observe a teacher in a content area classroom, observing the questioning strategies the teacher uses.
WIKI TEXT SET RESPONSE: After reading the text set, how do these books and electronic resources help with the topic understanding?
Christina: I think that this text set is very helpful and engaging. Students may not always comprehend information when it is solely given to them through a text book. However, when that material is supported with other activities like webquests, and simulations, and videos, then students begin to make connections and be more engaged in learning about a particular topic. I think that these sources are wonderful tools to use within the classroom and that students would benefit greatly from the use of them.
Steffani W: My favorite part of this text set was the PBS episode on the Dust Bowl. I really learned a lot from watching just the part I watched…I loved the interviews with the people who had actually experienced the Dust Bowl and what it was like. Just like the other text sets, these supplemental sources bring the event to life because they give the opportunity to see what the event looked, sounded, maybe even smelled/tasted like. Also, you can feel the emotions that these people felt as they experienced the Dust Bowl.Bonnie- These text sets are very engaging and helpful. Most students don't want to sit and read out of a text book or understand what they just read. They just do the assignment and turn it in without even learning from it or understanding. By getting the students other choices and access to more information over the topic the students should and would stay engaged.
STEPHANIE LOPEZ: They help the student see the text in a whole new way! It is exciting to see information in different way and literature. These will help the students understand and make a personal connection. They help keep the students interest. You can see the emotion people felt during the text set.
Students like to be able to make connection in order to get to know the information better.
Christina: *When using strategies to guide reading comprehension in the classroom, which is better to use instructional strategies or modeling?
Swanson: You will model the strategies that you are going to incorporate into the vocabulary, comprehension parts of the lesson. You will select a few of the four boxes (adapted to your grade level) and have them as the focus for the year. Then you will model, model, model, and then have them apply, apply, apply. When they "have it" you will add another strategy to model and then have them apply.
Bonnie- How would you get students to identify major undersrtandings and potential problems with prior use when planning a QtA lesson?
Swanson; You will know your students well and you will know basically how they think and plan for the concept. Then you will start providing background information and start by asking, "What would you do and why?" Then ask why the author chose what to do. What other options could he have chosen? Why make this choice? Was it right or wrong? Support your answers. Students should read through the eyes and experiences of the author and see the "right" picture and events in the author writes.
Steffani W.: How do you engage students in reading material when they continually shrug and say “I don’t know”…even when you ask them all kinds of questions to help them think? I had this happen last week in tutoring, and it was tough! How do you make kids think when they’re determined NOT to?
Swanson: Yes, that is true that when students have learned to avoid thinking by saying "I don't know." In your classroom you will not accept that as an answer. You will state that is a "NO" phrase because everyone can add onto the concept.
In tutoring, your time is so short and you are trying to change not only the reading skills but his/her attitudes toward reading. You will have to state, what part of that question don't you understand? You can break it down into parts and see if he/she knows a part of the question. Also, when you ask the student to analyze when they have not taken the prior steps in a taxonomy like application, it will be hard to get beyond the I don't know phase.
Stephanie Lopez: How do you activate the prior knowledge of Ell students?
Swanson: This can be started with a simple question of tell me what you know about ????. Then if they know nothing, you start the talk, look for videos and other visuals for background, talk some more, and then have more background development. The best source of background is realia and if you can't do that then the more experiences which are based on sight, sense, sound, feelings should be used.
LEARNING LOG 9
At the beginning of your answer, write your first name and then answer the question(s) fully.
Christina: The three main points that the authors suggest to improve the topic in your classroom in this chapter are activating what students know about words, defining words in the context of their use, and using vocabulary-building strategies. First, the authors discuss the importance of activating prior knowledge. Activities such as word exploration, brainstorming, and word sorts are great for this purpose because they get the students' minds focused on what they already know about the words. Defining words in the context of their use is also a very important part of vocabulary development. Activities such as vocabulary self-collection and definition word maps invite students to use their text to determine how words are defined in their natural context. Lastly, using vocabulary-building strategies in the classroom will allow students to build on their knowledge of words and show them how to construct meaning. Using things like context, typographic clues, and syntactic and semantic clues can all help students approximate the meaning of words within a text.
Steffani W.: Graphic organizers provide opportunities to use content vocabulary to describe chapter topics, or to define chapter vocabulary. They provide a visual representation of the relationships between concepts/words. Vocabulary strategies like vocabulary self-collection strategy and concept of definition maps help students build understanding of words in their context and the characteristics of the word that affect its meaning(s). Activating prior knowledge about students’ interactions with words helps build the proper base for vocabulary instruction. Using pictures and real-life scenarios can help students activate and build upon their own background knowledge.
Bonnie- At least three main points the authors suggest to improve the topic in your classroom are vocab building strategies, graphic organizers, and activating prior knowledge about words. The authors suggest more great topics and ideas but these three great ideas stuck out to me. The graphic organizers was the best one in my book. Getting the students to see the text and breaking it down for them is prob. one of the best ways to get them on the same page and understanding the text.
Stephanie L: Three main points the author suggests to improve the topic in your classroom are graphic organizers, showing students how to make their own connections, and activities to activate what students know about words. I really like all these points because they are all needed during a lesson. Graphic organizers are helpful. It is really important to know different way to get students to make connections. Activating prior knowledge is always important and must be done always.
CHOOSE TWO OF THE FOLLOWING TO ANSWER OR DO.
2. Why should students know the word structure (Greek and Latin roots and history)?
Steffani W.: Knowing the meaning of the individual parts of a word increases the understanding of the word as a whole. It helps students understand the word by learning about its background, instead of just memorizing the meaning.
Christina: I think that students should know the word structure because it is very beneficial and will help them to understand the meaning of the word. By knowing the roots of the word, students will be able to think about how what those roots mean, and how they contribute to the meaning of the entire word. This is also a skill that they can use for the rest of their life. If they remember the Greek and Latin roots that they learn, then it can help when reading new texts to not only understand the meaning of words, but also to comprehend the text as a whole.
Bonnie- Getting the students to understand the word structure is very important because it provides information clues about its meaning. Analyzing a word's structure, is a second vocabulary-building strategy that students can use to predict meaning.
Stephanie L: I think its important that students know the word structure because it will help them predict meaning with new words. I had to do this in one of my english classes in highschool and I can still remember the root words! It has defininetly helpful in studying. This will help students make meaning of the entire sentence as well.
3. Why should the language of an academic discipline be taught within the context of concept development?
4. What activities for vocabulary concept development help student define words?
Steffani W.: Activities like semantic feature analysis (SFA), concept circles, and categorization activities can help students define words and build their understanding of the word meaning and the concepts associated with the word.
Christina: Some of the activities that are helpful to students for vocabulary concept development that help them define words include concept of definition word maps, semantic feature analysis, and concept circles. The concept of definition word maps are great for organizing conceptual information in the process of defining a word. The semantic feature analysis is also a good activity to use because it establishes a meaningful link between students' prior knowledge and words that are conceptually related to one another. Lastly, the concept circles are beneficial for students as well. They must know the definition of words and relate them conceptually to one another. This can help them to define a word by knowledge of the other words in the circle. Bonnie- Activities that will help students define words that I have learned throughout this chapter is graphic organizer walk-through, word exploration, brainstorming, list-group-label (LGL). All these activites would be great help to students and their vocab concept development.
Stephanie L: There are some activities for vocabulary concept development. For example, word exploration, list group-label, brainstorming, word sorts, concept circles, semantic feature analysis, and word maps. These activites help the student define words and help them cement the knowledge.
5. Authentic Question:
Visit a middle level classroom and observe how the teacher develops general and technical vocabulary
Christina: *What are the best strategies to use when we are helping ELL students with vocabulary development?
Swanson: We know that listening vocabulary is developed before speaking vocabulary. Speaking vocabulary is developed before reading and then writing vocabulary. Thus, the most important vocabulary development is exposure to words and then have then experience as much as possible the word. If it is not realia, then it is a resource that has sound, pictures, visuals, movies, etc. so that most of the senses are used to illustrate the word. Then it is the multiple use of the words to make it go into long term memory. The teacher has to plan well the vocabulary development for especially the ELL students but vocabulary development should be used for ALL students.
Steffani W.: *I didn't see anything in the text about using word walls as a vocabulary development tool. How do you feel about using word walls as part of vocabulary development instruction?
Swanson: I love word walls and personal word walls. The word walls should be color coded either for parts of speech or use in the classroom (social studies, math). The words should be configured (as to shape) and have a visual connected to them. The words should be visual to all students. As for the personal word wall, the words from the wall can be printed onto the personal word wall (that is for the visual problem), and on the other side should be words the student spelled incorrectly in writing or want to have in his writing.
Stephanie L: * Is it okay for the teacher to get in a routine of using the same activites for every lesson or at least using them occasionally?
Swanson: It depends on the activity. For the primary grades, the reading of the language experience or the paragraph should be everyday at the same time. The counting of the numbers should be everyday. As you go up the grades, KWL+ chart can be okay at first but then it is overused in many cases when there are multiple ways of representing compare/contrast concepts. The more ways the student is exposed to the concept, the better the chances for learning the concept.
WIKI TEXT SET RESPONSE: After reading the text set, how do these books and electronic resources help with the topic understanding?
Christina: I believe that these resources would be very helpful with topic understanding. When we offer our students a variety of opportunities to learn, they greatly benefit from it. I really think that they will enjoy engaging in activities like a thinkquest and looking a real photographs from the events that they are learning about. I think that the students gain a much deeper understanding when they are provided with multiple resources from which to learn and acquire information.
Steffani W.: I think the War Between the States is one of the easier historical time periods to actually teach, because there are so many resources available for this time period. There are lots of videos, trade books, WebQuests, etc., etc. available to make the events come alive! I love the website that provides actual photographs from the Civil War…I think that would fascinate older kids. It’s really cool to me, anyway. I also love Pink and Say by Patricia Polacco. Bonnie- War Between States would be a much easier topic to teach your students for the fact we live in America. With all these different resources besides the text book I believe it gives the studenst a better chance of understanding the topic. It also makes them see and hopefully become more intereste.
Stephanie L: It presents the topic in a new way. It is important to teach the topic in a varied way, so that students with every learning styles will benefit from the lesson There are so many resources for electronic learning that it is unreal. There are games, real life occurences, and anything you could think of on the internet that could supplement your lesson plan. Books help students make a meaningful connection with the characters in the book.
LEARNING LOG 10
Thank you for your task commitment...your metacognition....your application.
At the beginning of your answer, write your first name and then answer the question(s) fully.
Christina: I think that the three main points that the authors suggest are the use of writing to learn (WTL), academic journals, and writing in disciplines in the classroom. Writing to learn uses a process of exploration, motivation, and clarification as students engage in writing. This helps students go about the task of making meaning. There are many instructional activities that support WTL, some of which include unsent letters, biopoems, and microthemes. Academic journals are also of great use in the classroom and serve a variety of purposes. They are a great way to engage students in a process of writing in which they can create knowledge and understanding. There are many different types of academic journals including response journals, learning logs, and double-entry journals. Lastly, the authors suggest the use of writing in disciplines in the classroom. This involves more formal, elaborate and well-thought-out writing on the part of students. RAFT writing and Research-Based writing are two different kinds of writing disciplines that can be used in the classroom.
Bonnie- Three main points I think the authour makes in this chapter is academic journals, integrating reading and writing, writing to learn, and also writing in disciplines. All of these are very important for the fact that each one has great and different methods of writing and reading. Getting the student involved by doing all thesedifferent learning logs, journals, etc. is great to also have the student understand the text or authour.
Stephanie L: Three main points the author suggests to improve the topic in the classroom are Writing to learn (WTL), Microthemes, and POVGs. WTLs are short and informal writing tasks. They will explore ideas and clarify what they are thinking about in relation to a subject under study. Microthemes are brief pieces of writing that results in great deal of thinking. They are like miniessays. PVOG stands for point of view guide. They are designed to trigger thoughtful reading and writing by having students get inside the skin of a character or a subject under study. All of these suggestions I would use in my future classroom.
Steffani W.: Three main ways the authors suggest improving writing in my classroom are:
--Integrating reading and writing: Reading and writing help motivate each other. Integrating reading and writing helps students think about what they’ve read and understand it better.
--WTL(Writing to Learn) activities are vital in helping students expand and clarify their ideas about a topic they have been studying and/or reading about. As they write, students make connections with the new ideas and build understanding. Some WTL activities I thought especially interesting are: point of view guides, unsent letters, and biopoems.
--Writing in disciplines: Writing in disciplines is a topic very important for students to understand because as they go through life, they will need to know how to write in various forms. Some examples of writing in disciplines include: application essays, research papers, letters, interviews, lab reports, etc.
CHOOSE TWO OF THE FOLLOWING TO ANSWER OR DO.
2. Why should 6 Traits +1 serve as a foundation for writing? Look up 6 Traits plus one (
Christina: I think that 6 traits +1 is a great foundation for writing for a couple of reasons. First, all of the traits are parts of the writing process. They are more specific components of the writing process that entail not only how to write a paper, but also how to write a good one with the proper elements. Secondly, these traits are all components of writing that students need to learn about. They need to know how to use a different voice in their writing, and how to organize their paper so that it makes sense and is structured properly. If students understand all of these traits and how to use them, then they will have a great foundation to begin effective writing, As far as implementing this program into my classroom, I think that it should be done in a step-by-step process. I would slowly introduce each trait to my students and we would spend time talking about each one and what it entails. Then, after we have finished discussing each trait, what it means, and how to use it, then I would have my students begin writing and apply this new knowledge. After the first few times, it will become routine for my students to think about and apply the 6 traits + 1 when writing.
Bonnie- The 6 traits +1 is a good fundation for writing because it shows the students word for word and breaks down the steps for the students. This also explains the writing process much easier so they can see and comprhend it as well. I love the 6 traits +1.
Stephanie L: This is the first time I have heard of 6 traits plus 1. It is a great idea and it should serve as a foundation for writing. The students need to learn it because it is a good way to begin the writing process. It will help them in the future because they will easily organize their papers.
Steffani W.: I had never heard of 6 Traits +1, but I think it is a great idea! I think this method of organizing writing is easier to remember and to understand than the typical writing process stages. The steps are self-explanatory—the first step is “ideas”. So easy to understand! Like the Powerpoint mentioned, you could easily use these stages with any grade level.
3. Why write for reader response?
Christina: I think that it is important for students to know how to write for reader response and to be mindful of their audience. This is something that they will have to know how to do for many different purposes. Since reading and writing are interlocking concepts, writers should know how to write for a particular audience of readers. Also, readers should be mindful of a text's content and aware that they engage in transactions with its author.
Bonnie- Writing for reader response helps students use their imagnation and engage the writing for the audience. The author has to write how they wqant the reader to respond therefore they need the text to be very meaningful.
Stephanie Lopez : I think it is SO important to the the reader responses often. It will help them organize their thoughts and they can also put themselves in the position of a character in their book that they are reading. They will have a place to put their emotionsandthoughtson the book. Theywill be so into the topic because the teacher will provoke certain emotions in order to get the students engaged in the writing process.
Steffani W.: Writing for reader response engages the writer and the audience. The writer has to think deeply about how she wants her reader to respond, and how/what she will write in order to evoke that response. The reader will be engaged in the writing because he/she will become caught up in the emotions the author intended to pull out of the reader.
4. Authentic question:
Interview an intermediate or above classroom teacher about the writing, types of writing, writing process, etc. that s/he uses in the classroom. Also check on the assessment procedure.
Steffani W.: *The text mentions using journals a lot. I have heard from other teachers that journals aren't a very effective way to get children writing because they feel it's boring. Some teachers say that they had discipline problems when they tried using journals. How did you use journals in your classroom?
Christina: *Since writing as motivation is something that can be used to get students to read, what can you do to help students that are not motivated in either area?
Stephanie Lopez * How would a teacher grade journals?
WIKI TEXT SET RESPONSE: After reading the text set, how do these books and electronic resources help with the topic understanding?
Christina: I believe that using books and electronic resources in addition to a text set is a great way for teachers to aid their students in topic understanding. It certainly enhances their knowledge of the subject and it sparks their interest so they want to learn more. A few things that I thought would be really useful in the classroom from this text set was the perspectives of children and the videos. I think that students love to hear from their peers and sometimes, they learn more from each other than from adults, therefore I think that the perspectives of children from WWII is a wonderful resource to use because students would learn a lot and be very interested in how children their age lived in that time period. I also like the videos that were available because it gives a sense of reality that students don't get from just reading a textbook.
Steffani W.: I loved the Dear America scrapbook, and the government posters. I also really liked the resource that showed WWII from various children’s perspectives. I loved learning what the bomb shelters smelled like! J This text set helped me personally connect with history because I could see it, hear it, smell it, even taste it; I also heard and saw a wide variety of real people’s perspectives on the event. All of these combined help me remember the event much more effectively than just reading out of a textbook.
Bonnie- The book called "The Butterfly" had very good wording and pictures so that students could feel like they weren't reading a text book about a subject but a story. Books and electroic resources are great ways to get students more engaged in the subject rather then reading a text book and taking a test or doing a report.
Stephanie Lopez: These sets will really supplement a lesson! Teachers can use these to enrich their lessons on the topic. It will help them make a personal connection witht the characters and time period in which they are learning. The students will look forward to the literature because it will be more fun than reading a boring textbook. It will give them a way to see the topic in a new way.
LEARNING LOG 11
Thank you......for a great response. I enjoyed reading each account
At the beginning of your answer, write your first name and then answer the question(s) fully.
.
Christina: The three main topics that the authors suggest in this chapter are the importance of text structure, the use of graphic organizers and making/taking notes. Text structure can be very important and when structure is perceived in text material, it can help to improve learning and retention. The two types of text structure include external and internal text structures. Graphic organizers can also help improve the topic in the classroom. They are visual displays that help learners comprehend and retain textually important information. There are several different types of graphic organizers that can be used. Some examples include network trees, series-of-events chains, and problem-solution outlines. Lastly, making and taking notes are an important component in the classroom. There are many note-taking procedures that can be introduced in the classroom to help students take effective notes. Some examples of note-taking procedures are reading logs, Cornell notes, T-notes, and Annotations.
Steffani W.: Three ideas I thought would be especially helpful in teaching students HOW to study are: summarizing, graphic organizers, and text structure. Teaching students how to summarize materials allows them to gather the important ideas and condense them into small “chunks” that are easier to remember. Graphic organizers allow students to have a way to organize and visualize facts and their reflections as they study materials. Learning text structure is essential; without it, students don’t know how/where to find the information they need.
Stephanie Lopez: Three main points the authors suggest to improve the topic in your classroom all stress the importance of text structure. Graphic organizers, Using questions, and semantic mapping. Graphic organizers are visual displays that help learners comprehend and retain textually important information. The using questions with graphic organizers. The lists of questions are as the following: Problem and Solution, Cause and Effect, and Comparison and Contrast questions. Semantic mapping is a type of graphic representation, it helps students identify important ideas and shows how these ideas fit together.
Bonnie- Three main ideas the authors suggest to improve the classroom are importance of text structure, study strategies, and study guides. Under these study texts are some great ideas to help improve the structure of studying the texts. The one I think is the most helpful or would be the most helpful is the graphic organizer. Anything that is visual normally helps with the understanding process.
CHOOSE TWO OF THE FOLLOWING TO ANSWER OR DO.
2. How is internal text structure different from external text structure? Why should students know both?
Christina: External and internal text structure differ in several ways. External text structure is characterized by a text's overall instructional design. Organizational aids like preface, table of contents, and appendixes are all examples of external text structure. Internal text structure is reflected by the interrelationships among ideas in the text. This type of text structure is more about the way that the text is written and how the ideas within that text are connected and related. Therefore, external text structure is more about the way that the text is organized and set up and internal is about the ideas within the text.
Bonnie-Internal structure is very different from external structure. External is more open then internal. For example external is like a table of contents where the internal is more content. Students need to know both I think becasue you do the external first to look for the information and internal is the content area text are written to inform.
Steffani W.: External text structure has to do with the order the author places the text, more like the outline of the text, while internal text structure has to do with the actual content of the text, the topic sentences, illustrations, etc., within the text. Students should know both types of text structure so they know how to navigate through the text to find the section they need (external), and how to read the section to find the information they need (internal).
Stephanie Lopez: Internal text structure is when the text is written to inform. External text structure contain format features. They are aids for the readers. It is very important that that students get to know both types of text because it will help them know the topic and get the information more clearly. Know how to read to get knowledge and how to get the information of the book is important and beneficial in understand the content clearly.
3. Graphic organizers help students comprehend and retain textually important information. How can you apply graphic organizers into the before, during, and after part of a lesson?
Christina: For the before part of a lesson, you could inform students of the topic that they are about to study and have them fill out a Venn diagram with ideas and information that they already know about that topic. This could also be used as a way to brainstorm ideas that they think may be discussed during the lesson. During the lesson, students could use a comparison-and-contrast matrix and fill it in with information that they have begun to learn about two or more components of the topic. Lastly, for that after part of a lesson, students could make a semantic map of all of the information that they now know about the topic that they just finished studying.
Bonnie- With graphic organizers the students can identify what parts of a text are important, how the ideas and concepts encounter the teact, and where they can find specific information to support more important ideas. All of those can be used with before-during-after lesson.
Steffani W.: Graphic organizers can easily be tied into the before, during, and after sections of a lesson. Just this week in my tutoring lesson, I used a graphic organizer in my before and during sections of my reading lesson plan. For the before section, we filled in a brainstorming cluster of our ideas of what our book might be about, with the book title in the center of the cluster. For the during section, I had planned to have my students make notes on post-it notes of ideas that “stuck out” to them in the story, and stick them on the page (but I forgot the sticky notes). After you read, you could have them organize their sticky notes in a graphic organizer. A great “after” graphic organizer is to finish filling out the “Learned” section of a KWL chart.
Stephanie Lopez: What a good question and important topic! The before part would allow students to use the graphic organizer to make predictions about the text. They could use clusters to help them. The during part would incorporate note taking. I like the note taking template where the students use the 40/60 layout. On one side the use the text notes and on the other side they put that information in their own words in order to make a personal connection. The after part KWL chart. They would need to fill in the learned section of the chart, but it would be good to have them fill out the whole thing to sum it all up.
4. Authentic question:
* Steffani W.: What are some ways to begin building good study habits in early grades, like kindergarten and first grade?
*Stephanie Lopez: What are some more before ways to use the graphic organizers?
Interview a teacher and find our how s/he applies research/based graphic organizers to enrich writing and reading.
WIKI TEXT SET RESPONSE: After reading the text set, how do these books and electronic resources help with the topic understanding?
Christina: I think that these electronic resources and books can greatly contribute to a student's understanding of a topic. These resources offer a more concrete way of learning the material that is fun and inviting to students. It is important to offer such resources in the classroom so that each and every students has an opportunity to learn. I thought that the tour of the Plimouth Plantation and the dramatic reading of the Mayflower Compact were both great ways to engage students in learning more about this topic.
Bonnie- I think these elctronic resources and book help very much. My favorite one with the Mayflower is the website. Letting the students see pictures and what the people may have looked like and the difference in the times would be a very helpful aid with students learning. Plus just reading it out of a text book doesn't show the students everything.
Steffani W.: I loved the Scholastic journey across the Atlantic, and also the videos of Miles Standish talking about the Pilgrims and their crops. The book by Kate Waters was also really interesting because it was written from a child’s perspective, and it also has genuine photographs of Mayflower replicas, and people dressed as pilgrims. These resources would be great for making the Mayflower seem like a real event with people just like you and me, instead of just a stuffy old boat filled with people wearing tall black hatsJ.
Stephanie Lopez: They help the students see the information in a more interesting way! It is a good way for a teacher to add to their lesson plans in order to make a more personal connection with the information. The students will love reading about real people that were apart of the mayflower instead of reading it in a text book.
Christina: *What is a good way to incorporate teaching about external and internal text structures in your lesson?
Swanson: As you are meeting a text you want to use in your class...the first step is to introduce the format as well as the needed vocabulary. For example, you will see that this is a compare/contrast format because do you see this key words...you can use the Venn in your mind or on paper as you read this passage." As for internal, you will take them on a chapter tour and show them the internal parts of the chapter.
Stephanie Lopez: It is nice to be able to supplement a lesson plan with text sets. Studentswill really enjoy to be able to see the information in a new way! I will use text sets as much as possible.I feel like it is neat to seethe information from a different point of view. Reading out of a text book can be very repetivitive and very boring! The students will really benfit from the text sets.
LEARNING LOG 12
At the beginning of your answer, write your first name and then answer the question(s) fully.
Bonnie, you need to answer the second question.
Bonnie-Three main points the authors suggest to improve the topic in the classroom is why use trade books, reader response strategies, and instructional strategies. The reason I think these are important is because as a teacher you have to help and encourage your students to read and want to read. By letting them read a book or text they want for a reward. Trade books are a great idea for classrooms cause they are on subjects or stories the students want to read about or learn about. Reader response has a lot of good reasons to use in the classroom, for example, the students develop ownership or their reading and their responses, they make personal connections with literature, and they begin to view themselves as successful readers.
Christina: The three main points that the authors suggest are using trade books, using instructional strategies for trade books, and reader response strategies. Using trade books in the classroom can be a huge benefit to both the teacher and the students. Trade books are rich in narrative and informational content and they are a valuable complement to most textbooks. These books provide depth, considerate and accurate information, material at a variety of reading levels, and motivation for learning. Overall, trade book help to provide a different type of resource of information on a topic that may be more interesting and engaging to students. A few instructional strategies that the authors suggest to use with trade books in the classroom include self-selected reading and teacher read-alouds. Both of these strategies are a great way to implement trade books into the classroom. Lastly, reader response strategies that are mentioned include reflective writing and post-its notes. These strategies involve students in response to literature and help them develop thinking skills.
Steffani W.:
Three main points the authors suggest that I thought were especially important are: instructional strategies, reader response strategies, and the use of trade books. Using trade books in the classroom is a great way to supplement your textbooks and make the topic more interesting for your students. With the trade books, it is important to use instructional and reader response strategies to maximize your students’ learning from the trade books. Some instructional strategies that can be implemented with trade books include building text sets/class library, sustained silent reading, and teacher read-alouds. Reader response strategies extend the student’s learning experience beyond the pages of the book through strategies like reflective writing, post-it notes, and improvisational drama.
Stephanie Lopez: Three main points authors suggest are trade books, Self selected reading, and creating classroom libraries and text sets.
Trade books are very helpful! They show the students information in a new way. There are picture books, nonfiction books, and fiction books. Students will benefit so much from trade books because they wont be reading from a boring text book. Selected reading make independent reading central in the lives of students. Such experiences can creat adolescents who want to continue reading after the bell has rung. Creating libraries and text sets are used in teacher libraries. They need to have books located to the topic they are teaching.
CHOOSE TWO OF THE FOLLOWING TO ANSWER OR DO.
2. If teachers knew the problems with textbooks, why do they still use them? What can you do to eliminate the problems?
Christina: I think that teachers still use textbooks for two main reasons. First, they use them because of the coverage of content that may appear on high-stakes testing. Teachers are under a lot of pressure to prepare kids for testing and if textbooks are what cover that information, then that is what they use to teach with. Second, I also think that it is convenient. Teachers have quite a bit of preparation to do with each lesson and textbooks seem like an easy source to teach from. They are easily accessible and no extra work is required to acquire it.
Steffani W.: Even though textbooks do have their faults, they are still good guides for the teacher to know a good sequence of objectives that the class should cover. They are a good basic base for instruction. As a teacher, I can use the textbooks as a guide for my instruction, and supplement with other materials, like trade books, and hands-on interactive activities.
Stephanie Lopez: I think they still use them because it is a comfortable position to stay in. They dont have to be very creative. They just say "read the book." I, as a future teacher, will no use textbooks as frequently as I had to when I was in school. I will use more trade books and go to other teachers for help when I need ideas. I will make sure that as a teacher i will be way more prepared than the teachers I had while in school. I will take time to make sure there is a during, before, and after aspect of my lesson plans.
3. How would a trade book and electronic sources text set on an historical event enhance the curriculum?Bonnie- I think a trade book and electronic sources would help big time in the classroom because it gives the students a different outlook on the subject. A lot of electronic sources have great pictures and guided tours that shows students great example of the history.
Make a list of ten trade books which should be included in the study of the American Revolution. Give a rationale for each book and give in a sentence or two how you would use the books.Bonnie-On attached paper!
Steffani W.:
American Revolution Booklist
Gauch, Patricia Lee. This Time, Tempe Wick? Putnam, 1974. ISBN 0-698-20300-3.
Based on legend, this is the story of a young girl who hid her horse from the Continental army by hiding it in her bedroom for three days.
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. Paul Revere's Ride. Illustrated by Ted Rand. Dutton, 1990. ISBN 0-525-44610-9.
Longfellow might have taken some liberties with fact in his epic poem about the ride, but it makes a fine picture book with Ted Rand's illustrations of moonlit landscapes and lamplit street scenes that reflect the atmosphere of the time.
Collier, James Lincoln and Collier, Christopher. My Brother Sam Is Dead. Four Winds, 1974. ISBN 0-02-722980-7.
This book provides a different perspective on the Revolutionary War—the perspective of a Loyalist family that loses their son during one of the Revolutionary battles.
Fritz, Jean. And Then What Happened, Paul Revere? Coward, 1973. ISBN 00-698-20274-0 This is a short history of Paul Revere that concentrates on his eventful ride. It makes a good introduction to this period because, like all of Fritz's short biographies, it is historically correct even as she manages to breathe life into the heroes of our past.
Booklist source: http://www.carolhurst.com/subjects/ushistory/revnonfiction.html
Johnny Tremain provides young readers with the opportunity to personally connect with a young boy who is able to join the Sons of Liberty and fight for America’s freedom.
The American Girl Felicity books are a great way to interest young girls in the events of the Revolutionary War. These books show the adventures of women and children, who are often under-represented in accounts of historical events.
This book is excellent for helping children understand the extensive hardships of the soldiers at Valley Forge, without being overly graphic. Students read and connect with vibrant details and emotions. The book is also written in diary format, so it is easier for struggling readers to read the small “chunks”.
Stephanie Lopez: Trade books are awesome! While I was in school we didnt do a lot of reading in the trade books. We usually stuck to the text books, which were so boring! Im going to use these in my future classroom.
The Tin Heart, Ackerman, N. Cecil's Story, Lyon, Ge. Nettie's Trip, Armstron. Band of Brothers, Fkleming, T. To be a Slave, Lester, J. Follow the Drinking Gourd, Winter, J. Photo by Brady South, Turner, A. The Boys' War, Murhpy, J. Ill Pass for Your Comrade, Silvey, A. Under Siege, Warren, A.
Authentic Question:
Take a poll of five teachers and find out how they integrate trade books into their content area classroom.Christina: I talked to several teachers that I know to see how they integrate text books into the classroom. I got the almost the same answer from the majority of them. It seems that all but one teacher use trade books in the classroom on a regular basis. One of the teachers was telling me that she usually integrates the trade books by first using the textbook to teach the information and then scaffolding that information by reading a trade book on the same topic. Two of the other teacher also used a similar method to this. Another one of the teachers said that whenever they are learning a new topic, each student picks a trade book from a list of 3 or 4 and are asked to read it on their own during DEAR time and at home. Then, after they have all finished their books, they have a class discussion about each book, how it relates to the topic, and what they learned from it. Each of the teachers that used them said that it really helps the students with topic understanding and it sparks their interest. Christina: *What is a good way for teacher to find access to trade books related to the topic that they are teaching?
Steffani W.: ***Does the library system have extended check-outs for teachers? I was thinking the library would be awesome for building a temporary text set on a topic, but you can only have the books for two weeks at a time. I HAVE ALWAYS "BORROWED" BOOKS FROM THE PUBLIC LIBRARY. IN MY TOWN, BECAUSE I AM A TEACHER, I AM ALLOWED TO CHECK THE BOOKS OUT FOR A MONTH. THAT IS PLENTY OF TIME FOR A TOPIC. ALSO, BECAUSE I WAS IN A LARGE SCHOOL DISTRICT, I ALSO CHECKED OUT BOOKS FROM THE OTHER ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS. FOR EXAMPLE, I WANTED EVERYONE TO READ A CERTAIN BOOK AND THEN I CHECKED OUT ENOUGH BOOKS FOR CLASSROOM SETS FROM THE OTHER SCHOOLS IN MY DISTRICT. FOR A CLASS THIS LAST SUMMER, I WENT ON AMAZON.COM AND BOUGHT THE DOLLAR USED BOOKS FOR A SET OF BOOKS. IT HAS TAKEN TIME FOR ME TO COLLECT MY BOOKS AND I KEEP ON COLLECTING.
IN OKC, THE FIRST SATURDAY IN MARCH, A LIBRARY SALE IS HAPPENING AND I BUY BOOKS THERE. I GO TO SALVATION ARMY, AND OTHER SIMILAR STORES. I GO TO CHURCH STORES. I HAVE COLLECTED TWO IMMENSE CHILDREN AND CLASSROOM LIBRARIES. THE FIRST ONE WHEN I MOVED DOWN HERE I DONATED TO THE HOMELESS SHELTER. NOW I AM COLLECTING AGAIN AND WHEN I QUIT, I WILL DONATE MY LIBRARY (EXCEPT MY AUSTRALIAN AND POP-UP BOOKS) TO SOMEONE OR SOME AGENCY.
Stephanie Lopez: Is it okay to use ereaders as much as you use regular literature books.